Belarus crackdown: Lukashenko targets families with new law
Opponents of Alexander Lukashenko's regime may lose their children under a new law that has taken effect with the new year. This law expands the list of situations in which families can have their children removed. Observers suggest the real goal is to silence Lukashenko's opponents during the January presidential elections.
The regime in Belarus is widening the criteria for removing children from families in situations labeled as "socially dangerous." The Prime Minister of Belarus, Raman Halouchanka, signed new regulations that began to apply from January 1.
Authorities can now remove a child if their parents have been convicted based on "political" articles of the Code of Administrative Offenses.
Opponents of Lukashenko's regime in Belarus face losing their children for various reasons. These regulations include:
- "Spreading extremist materials," which in practice includes sharing, commenting, or liking any content from independent media or social media profiles associated with the Belarusian opposition. The TV channel Belsat has been on the list of "extremist materials" since 2020, and recently, the Instagram account of Alina Kouszyk, the new editor-in-chief of Belsat, was also added.
- "Involving a minor in antisocial behavior," which means taking a child to an illegal assembly, something that was widespread in August 2020.
- "Petty hooliganism," such as chanting anti-regime slogans.
Lukashenko aims to enforce silence during January's presidential elections
The 2020 presidential elections in Belarus, which the government manipulated, resulted in local courts detaining and fining tens of thousands of citizens. The amendment of the existing regulations poses a real threat of losing children for many of these families. This could lead many families to consider emigration to avoid such drastic consequences.
In an interview with Belsat, political scientist Alina Charysawa from the analysis and strategy department of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's office noted that the regime's goal is not necessarily to take away as many children as possible but to silence citizens during the January presidential elections by "imposing self-censorship."
Charysawa stated, "Interest in politics was compared to social wrongdoing. These measures are deliberately taken before the elections to increase pressure on society so that no one dares to oppose the regime. The greatest pressure is on those with families who fear for their children. This is a very sensitive group."
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leader of democratic Belarus, wrote on platform X, "No child should suffer because their parents dream of freedom. Yet, thousands of children in Belarus are separated from their parents due to political repression."
Source: Belsat/WP
