Constitutional Court says extremism major threat, plays up state ideology

March 12, Pozirk. The Belarusian Constitutional Court has said in a message to the government that it identified “extremism, Nazism, activities of terrorist organizations, illegal armed groups and mass riots” as the major threats to Belarus.

The statement, published on the National Legal Internet Portal three days before Constitution Day, says that the court found the law against “the rehabilitation of Nazism” and amendments countering extremism and protecting sovereignty and constitutional order to be in line with the Constitution.

It stressed the need to develop effective legal mechanisms to put into practice constitutional provisions on state ideology and counteract “alien and destructive system of ideas and pseudo-values.”

The court described ideology as the basis of the Belarusian system.

After the 2020 peaceful protests against election fraud, Belarusian authorities equated criticism, solidarity, advocacy, the free media and free expression to extremism and terrorism.