Brestsky Kuryer, other media branded extremist content

July 11, BPN. A district judge in Brest on July 7 declared the website of Brestsky Kuryer extremist content, according to an updated list released by the information ministry.

The newspaper was founded in the early days of Belarus’ independence from the Soviet Union. It stopped coming out in print in 2018 amid financial hardships, but its website was updated until recently.

Other additions to the list include the Facebook account of Sympa, a Belarusian school for young managers of public administration.

The Committee for State Security (KGB) designated Sympa as an extremist group in June. Sympa co-founder Tacciana Kuzina is serving a 10-year sentence handed down in March 2023 on politically-motivated charges.

A judge in Mazyr, Homiel region, also blacklisted the Instagram account of SOS, a free association of athletes, with 16,000 subscribers. The association gained prominence during post-election protests in 2020 and 2021.

The updated list also includes the following:

Vožyk. Samizdat, a Telegram channel with 317 subscribers

Vkontakte account of the Poland-based Belarusian radio station Radyjo Racyja

Moi Chashniki Vkontakte group with 1,455 members

Belsat Admin account with 50,000 subscribers

Khvatit Boyatsya group in Odnoklassniki with 2,430 members

Holas, an online vote-counting tool with 7,722 subscribers