More than 40 searches were conducted in Belarus targeting graduates and students of the European Humanities University
In Belarus, law enforcement officials have conducted more than 40 mass searches of students and graduates of the European Humanities University, as well as their close relatives.
Regime officials are blackmailing parents and demanding that they force their children to immediately withdraw from the Lithuanian university under threat of arrest.
According to the human rights project “Viasna,” security forces have already detained several relatives of members of the academic community.
Law enforcement officers are going directly to the homes of Belarusians whose children are currently studying in Vilnius.
Parents are being ordered to immediately deliver an ultimatum to the students: if they do not withdraw their documents from EHU within 10 days, their relatives in Belarus will be imprisoned.
At the same time, pressure is being exerted on graduates who completed their studies at this university between 2019 and 2025. Former students are being required to provide official proof of graduation and to report in detail exactly who financed their educational expenses.
As human rights activists note, this large-scale criminal prosecution is being investigated under articles regarding the facilitation and financing of “extremist activities.”
According to the case files, “unidentified individuals” allegedly “intentionally” provided financial support to the university as early as 2016.
However, official Minsk did not designate the European Humanities University as an “extremist organization” until April 2026. Thus, the Belarusian authorities are effectively applying criminal law retroactively.
This is reported by the human rights project “Viasna.”
A priest from Lithuania was detained during a church service in Belarus
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia is attempting to draw Belarus deeper into the war against Ukraine and is considering new scenarios for aggression from its territory.
Belarus’s self-proclaimed president, Alexander Lukashenko, held a meeting on military equipment and announced the preparation of a new state armament program for 2026–2030.
Belarus continues to build infrastructure facilities deep within its territory and is not moving them closer to the Ukrainian border. At the same time, it cannot be ruled out that Russia may use these facilities in the future to deploy additional forces and equipment.
