{"id":202072,"date":"2026-09-01T19:29:42","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T16:29:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/202072\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T19:29:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T16:29:44","slug":"amnesty-international-sounds-alarm-over-intensifying-assault-on-ehu","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/202072\/","title":{"rendered":"Amnesty International sounds alarm over \u201cintensifying assault\u201d on EHU"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n \"\"\n
\n \n
\n (EHU website) <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

September 1, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> As the new academic year begins, the Belarusian authorities\u2019 relentless campaign against the exiled European Humanities University (EHU) has taken a disturbing new turn, intensifying its assault on the rights to education, freedom of expression and academic freedom, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International\u2019s director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This campaign of intimidation is no longer confined to students and others connected to the independent Belarusian university in Lithuania but now extends to their relatives and associates in Belarus, illustrating how the authorities\u2019 brazen repressive tactics reach far beyond the country\u2019s borders, Struthers says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She cites \u201cmounting reports\u201d showing that \u201cdozens of people in Belarus are subjected to searches, interrogations, detention and threats, and forced to pressure their loved ones to quit the university and return to Belarus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Struthers warns that the \u201cexpanding scope\u201d of these measures raises concerns about a possible a \u201cdemonstrative \u2018anti-extremism\u2019 trial\u201d involving students, graduates, staff and their relatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Struthers urges the Belarusian authorities to \u201cstop this campaign of persecution and remove the absurd and detrimental label of \u2018extremist organizations\u2019 from EHU and other civil society groups.\u201d She calls on the international community to make every effort to put pressure on the Belarusian government to stop its crackdown on human rights. Lithuanian authorities must also promptly and effectively investigate all allegations of human rights abuses against EHU students, she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On April 14, 2026, the Supreme Court of Belarus designated European Humanities University as an \u201cextremist organization.\u201d D\u017amitryj Brylo\u016d, a departmental chief at the Prosecutor General\u2019s Office, claimed that the exiled university provides support to radical politicized groups and destructive foreign NGOs and is used by state security agencies to cause damage to Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Association with an \u201cextremist\u201d group in Belarus carries a penalty of two to seven years in prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities opened a criminal case over tuition fees paid to EHU since 2016, with individuals linked to the university facing charges of facilitating and financing \u201cextremism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of May, EHU Rector Vilius \u0160adauskas told the Belarusian Association of Journalists that about 100 students had already left the university fearing \u201cextremism\u201d-related persecution in Belarus. Two lecturers and several IT workers employed on a part-time basis also resigned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On August 17, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported that at least 175 people had been subjected to politically motivated persecution over links to EHU, including more than 110 students and their relatives in Belarus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the report, Belarusian law enforcers conducted more than 60 searches targeting EHU\u2019s alumni, students and staff as well as their relatives in early June. The Committee for State Security (KGB) openly threatens the parents of current students, who live in Lithuania, with criminal prosecution if they fail to talk their children into terminating their studies within 10 days and returning to Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relatives of some students are said to have been arrested. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

European Humanities University was founded in Minsk in 1992 as a pioneering independent institution that introduced Western-style liberal arts education and critical thinking to post-Soviet Belarus. Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s government shut EHU down in 2004, prompting its relocation to Lithuania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to its website, EHU receives support from the European Union, the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the governments of Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Iceland, and other donors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until recently, Belarusians accounted for about 74 percent of EHU\u2019s student body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n
\n \"\"
\n

At least 175 people persecuted in EHU case, report says<\/h3>\n
August 17, Pozirk. At least 175 people have been subjected to politically motivated persecution over links to European Humanities University (EHU) in Vilnius, including more than 110 students and their relatives in Belarus, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported on August 17. The number of …<\/div>\n \n