{"id":176075,"date":"2026-02-17T17:26:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T14:26:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/176075\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"belarus-authorities-remove-about-2000-children-over-suspected-mistreatment","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/176075\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarus\u2019 authorities remove about 2,000 children over suspected mistreatment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

February 17, Pozirk. <\/em><\/strong>Authorities in Belarus have removed about 2,000 children from 1,800 parents on the grounds that the children were in need of state protection, Alena Vajciachovi\u010d of the country\u2019s education ministry said at a news conference in Minsk on February 17.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some 19,000 children have been classified as \u201csocially endangered,\u201d a term that usually implies abuse or neglect, including situations involving parents who abuse alcohol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, 90 parents had their parental rights restored after suspension, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would like to stress that the extreme measure, such as the termination of parental rights, is not final. Parents have a chance to restore their rights until the very end,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, 3,065 individuals were stripped of their parental rights, according to the Supreme Court. The number decreased from 3,155 in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities stepped up efforts to identify socially endangered children after a mother in Or\u0161a, Viciebsk region, was charged in February 2024 with strangling four of her six children. The woman died in hospital two days after the incident. All the children had been classified as socially endangered at the time of the killings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a separate case, a judge in October 2023 sentenced Alaksandar Taratuta to death and his wife Anastasija to 25 years in prison after finding them guilty of murdering their three-year-old child in S\u0142uck, Minsk region. Police also brought criminal charges against officials responsible for monitoring troubled families. Although the parents were found guilty of abusing their child, officials had not classified the child as socially endangered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In December 2023, the \u201csocially endangered\u201d category was expanded to include families in which both parents lack official employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The label is also widely applied to victims of political persecution, including those convicted of producing or distributing materials deemed to contain calls for extremist activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many parents live under constant strain, fearing that their children could be declared socially endangered following a denunciation without valid grounds, Ta\u0107ciana Krapinievi\u010d, a teacher who fled Belarus because of persecution, told Pozirk<\/em> in December 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She noted that the classification, originally intended to protect children, is increasingly used against dissenters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the category is assigned, officials have the authority to conduct unannounced home inspections to check for adequate food supplies and appropriate living conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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