{"id":184377,"date":"2026-04-21T12:36:56","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T09:36:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/184377\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T12:36:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T09:36:58","slug":"budrys-calls-for-pressure-on-lukasenka-over-ehu-extremist-designation","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/184377\/","title":{"rendered":"Budrys calls for pressure on \u0141uka\u0161enka over EHU \u201cextremist\u201d designation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (audiovisual.ec.europa.eu \/ Still by Pozirk)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

April 21, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Lithuanian Foreign Minister K\u0119stutis Budrys has called for increasing pressure on authorities in Minsk and denying Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka the possibility to exploit global developments and threaten Lithuania\u2019s national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka keeps fuelling tensions, the diplomat told journalists ahead of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg today, citing the recent \u201cextremist” group designation to the Vilnius-based European Humanities University (EHU). \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Budrys intends to push for retaliatory measures against Minsk over harassment of the university, seek broader European support for the university\u2019s students and staff and raise the issue at the EU level. Possible moves may include sanctions against Belarusian officials and increased support for EHU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EHU was founded in Minsk in 1992, but \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s government banned it in 2004, forcing it to relocate to Lithuania. According to its website, EHU receives support from the EU, the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the governments of the Netherlands and Iceland, and other donors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Belarus designated EHU as an \u201cextremist\u201d group, accusing the exiled university of providing support to radical politicized groups and destructive foreign NGOs and being \u00a0used by state security agencies to cause damage to Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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EU says Minsk violates academic freedoms by blacklisting exiled university<\/h3>\n
April 17, Pozirk. The European External Action Service (EEAS) condemned the "extremist" designation of the European Humanities University (EHU) by Belarus as a "blatant and unjustified attack on academic freedom, freedom of expression, and the fundamental right to education." The …<\/div>\n \n