Honest People initiative recognized as an extremist formation

February 8, BPN. The Honest People initiative was recognized as an extremist formation, Viasna Human Rights Center reports.

“A group of citizens who are the participants, leaders, and creators of the Honest People initiative are carrying out extremist activities,” reads the list of organizations involved in extremist activities that was published on the Interior Ministry’s website.

The initiative launched at the start of the campaign for the 2020 presidential election. The creators position it as “an open community of citizens of Belarus who are ready to take responsibility for the future of the country,” aiming to build a full-fledged civil society.

Honest People projects include the Falsification Case, an initiative where Belarusians collected signatures confirming their votes in the election in favour of Sviatlana Cichanoŭskaja. In total, over 35,000 signatures were collected.

Currently, the project team is gathering facts about “crimes committed against the Belarusian people and the Constitution by the state officials and collaborators of the Lukašenka regime.”

In Belarus, participation in the activities of an “extremist formation” constitutes a criminal offence.

On February 8, a group of citizens united through the Internet resources called Real Belarus was recognized as an extremist formation. Previously, BelaPAN news agency, Belsat TV channel, Radio Svaboda, and Naša Niva, among others, were recognized as extremist formations.