Belarus has banned rights group Christian Vision and labeled it “extremist” for documenting religious freedom abuses by the Belarusian secret police, according to Forum 18.

The State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus (KGB RB) raided homes and seized DNA samples from relatives of an activist with Christian Vision, which was formed by human rights defenders at churches in Belarus in September 2020 during public protests against “falsified” presidential elections, reported Forum 18. Registered in Lithuania as Christian Vision for Belarus, the group records violations of freedom of religion or belief and other human rights.

Several courts labeled as “extremist” the Christian organization’s Telegram, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, VKontakte and Odnoklassniki accounts, as well as its logo, in rulings between August 2023 and March 2024. The KGB RB concurred with these judgments and declared the organization “extremist” on April 1. 

Three people linked to Christian Vision, all Orthodox Christians located outside Belarus, were added to the Interior Ministry’s “extremist” list on April 8: Natallia Vasilevich, Natallia Harkovich and Dzmitry Korneyenko. 

Christian Vision has not been informed of the “extremism” declarations by the KGB RB, Interior Ministry or courts, Forum 18 reported. 

“We only found out when the [extremism] lists were updated,” Orthodox theologian and human rights defender Vasilevich, the group’s coordinator, told Forum 18 on May 6. “We understand the decision of the KGB RB as their recognition of Christian Vision’s ecumenical, human rights and anti-war work. The decision is not unexpected – it follows the logic of oppression of any independent voice. Sooner or later this destiny awaits everyone.”

Vasilevich said the extremism allegation would not deter the work of Christian Vision but could compromise the safety of co-workers in Belarus. 

“It might jeopardize the situation of those Christians still in Belarus who cooperate with us and give us information,” Vasilevich told Forum 18. “They will have to be more cautious and careful about their security while communicating with us.”

The decision could also affect the monitoring of freedom of religion or belief violations.

“At present, information from the ground is the only source about persecutions,” Vasilevich said. 

Police reportedly raided three relatives of Dzmitry Korneyenko, one of the Christian Vision members identified by the KGB RB, and mentioned above. Officers took DNA samples from his father, Viktor Korneyenko, in the town of Orsha on April 9 and from his brother on April 23. 

“When [my brother] asked the police why they needed his DNA, they responded that it made it easier for them to hunt for me,” Korneyenko told Forum 18. 

Korneyenko posted on Facebook (April 10) that his father was too confused to ask Orsha police why they needed his DNA, but that his brother tried to find out. 

“When he asked the police why they needed his DNA, they responded that it made it easier for them to hunt for me,” Korneyenko said, according to Forum 18.

Orsha District Police refused to tell Forum 18 why officers visited Korneyenko’s relatives and why they needed DNA samples. Forum 18 contacted the duty officer at Orsha District Police, but he reportedly refused to answer any questions as to why officers visited Korneyenko’s relatives and why they needed to take DNA samples. He referred Forum 18 to the head of district police, Dmitry Borodavko, but he did not answer his phone.

Korneyenko stated police raids against his relatives happened before “with varying frequency” were common but it was the first time DNA had been taken: “That’s something new.”  

Korneyenko has also been involved in Christians Against War, a project supported by Christian Vision, which chronicles persecution of clergy and other Christians in both Russia and Belarus who oppose Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A Belarusian court declared the project “extremist” last year. 

Russia placed Korneyenko on the country’s federal wanted list after several criminal cases were launched against him, reported Forum 18. This includes “supporting an extremist organization” after he opposed Russia’s actions in Ukraine during an interview with television station Belsat in Odessa in March 2022. The KGB RB labeled him “extremist” last April 21. 

The Orthodox activist is also involved in another organization labeled extremist called People’s Deputy, which monitors the activities of local administrations. The KGB RB also declared it “extremist” on April 21. 

“In fact, I am now a three-time participant in extremist formations,” Korneyenko noted on Facebook on May 2. “Imagine how much more the security forces have to work on me.”

Forum 18 tried contacting the KGB RB secret police, press secretary Natalya Sakharchuk and her deputy at the Interior Ministry, and the Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs Aleksandr Rumakalso, all located in Minsk. The rights group had no response to enquiries about the crackdown.  

Extremism can be applied to “any sphere of human activity,” according to Forum 18, citing Article 12 of the new Religion Law enacted on July 5. This bans anyone deemed to be involved in extremist activities from leading or founding registered religious organizations.  

Anyone who shares, copies or “likes” material from a site deemed extremist risks punishment under Administrative Code Article 19.11 (“Distribution, production, storage and transportation of information products containing calls for extremist activities, or promoting such activities”).

Anyone joining or providing information or an interview to such a site risks punishment under Criminal Code Article 361-1 (“Creation of or participation in an extremist organisation”) or Criminal Code Article 361-4 (“Supporting extremist activity”).

Former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus Anaïs Marin reportedly told the U.N. General Assembly in August 2023 that “the concept of extremism contained in the law on countering extremism can be applied to any sphere of human activity.”

“It can be applied not only to various forms of freedom of association, peaceful assembly or freedom of expression, but also to all civil society activities, primarily owing to broad formulations and the wide range of interpretation powers granted to authorities,” Marin said. “Any form of expression, civic activism and political opposition can fall under the ‘extremism’ label.”