Lithuania lodges protest with Belarus over EHU “extremist” designation

April 16, Pozirk. Lithuania has lodged a strong protest with Belarus over Minsk’s move to designate the Vilnius-based European Humanities University (EHU), as an “extremist” group, says a statement published on the Lithuanian foreign ministry’s website.

Lithuania condemned the decision as “politically motivated, unfounded and in violation of international law and national sovereignty.” Diplomats said the move is unprecedented, marking the first time a higher education institution legally operating in another country has been designated an “extremist” group.

Vilnius pledged to support EHU as a pillar of academic freedom, critical thinking and democratic values, free from political influence.

The designation by Minsk poses a direct threat to EHU students and the wider academic community, effectively criminalizing international academic cooperation and undermining Belarusian society, pro-democracy forces and Belarus’ future, the statement stressed.

Lithuania said it does not recognize the decision’s legal effect and demanded its immediate repeal, warning the move would further strain bilateral relations and would be assessed at both national and European Union levels for potential political and diplomatic measures.

Two days ago, the Belarusian Prosecutor General’s Office announced that the Supreme Court of Belarus had designated EHU as an “extremist” groups. Dźmitryj Bryloŭ, a departmental chief at the Prosecutor General’s 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.

EHU was founded in Minsk in 1992, but the Alaksandar Łukašenka government banned it in 2004, forcing it to relocate to Lithuania.

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 the Netherlands and Iceland, and other donors.