<\/p>\n
Reacting to a growing number of reports that Belarusian authorities are persecuting, intimidating and targeting students and others connected to the European Humanities University (EHU) in Vilnius, Lithuania, as part of their efforts to repress dissent beyond Belarus\u2019 borders, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International\u2019s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the new academic year begins, the Belarusian authorities\u2019 relentless campaign against the exiled European Humanities University has taken a disturbing new turn, intensifying its assault on the rights to education, freedom of expression and academic freedom. This campaign of intimidation is no longer confined to students and others connected to the independent Belarusian university in Lithuania. They now extend to relatives and associates in Belarus, illustrating how the authorities\u2019 brazen repressive tactics reach far beyond the country\u2019s borders.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMounting reports show that dozens 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe authorities have already designated the EHU as an \u2018extremist organization\u2019 and are increasingly targeting those associated with it. The expanding scope of these measures raises concerns that the authorities may seek to pursue further action, including through a demonstrative \u2018anti-extremism\u2019 trial involving students, graduates, staff and their relatives.<\/p>\n
\nThe expanding scope of these measures raises concerns that the authorities may seek to pursue further action, including through a demonstrative \u2018anti-extremism\u2019 trial involving students, graduates, staff and their relatives<\/p>\n
Marie Struthers, Amnesty International\u2019s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cThe Belarusian authorities must stop this campaign of persecution and remove the absurd and detrimental label of \u2018extremist organizations\u2019 from the EHU and other civil society groups. Meanwhile, the international community must 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Background<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Founded in Minsk in 1992 as an independent private university, the EHU was stripped of its license by the Belarusian authorities in 2004 and forced to relocate to Vilnius, Lithuania, in 2005. On 14 April 2026, the Supreme Court of Belarus banned the EHU, designating it an \u201cextremist organization\u201d for allegedly \u201cencroaching on the sovereignty of Belarus, the foundations of the constitutional order and public security.\u201d<\/p>\n
Between 2 and 4 June 2026, Belarusian security forces conducted coordinated searches and interrogations across the country targeting EHU affiliates and their families. Belarusian Human Rights Centre Viasna documented over 60 searches, noting that investigators were threatening individuals with \u201cextremism\u201d-related charges, including retrospectively, in relation to payments to the EHU dating back to 2016. Several people, including relatives of EHU students, have reportedly been briefly detained in connection with the crackdown. By 17 August, Viasna had identified at least 175 people affected by this campaign.<\/p>\n