Belarus LGBTQI+ rights statement

Belarusian Queer People Under Threat Due to New Wave of Repressions Against Activist Organizations

September brought troubling news for the Belarusian queer community: several organizations reported the arrests of activists and even attendees of LGBTQ events. We also learned of several arrests of transgender individuals who were not directly linked to activist organizations. It appears that a new wave of repressions against civil society organizations has begun in Belarus. Activists believe this may be connected to the start of another presidential campaign by Alexander Lukashenko in preparation for the 2025 elections. This wave aims to silence and fracture communities with collective social interests that could demand political representation.

In September 2024, a significant number of LGBTQ people were affected by these repressions. At least four projects related to SOGI (sexual orientation and gender identity), queer issues, and/or feminism faced the arrests of their participants or volunteers, and members of their teams were summoned for interrogations and meetings with the KGB. During these sessions, direct questions were asked about the activities of queer initiatives in Belarus, and certain projects and activists were named. During searches, even if only nominally connected to other civil society organizations, items related to queer culture and activities were seized (e.g., promotional materials with queer symbols). Human rights defenders suggest that this is not a random occurrence but rather a targeted intimidation campaign against queer initiatives and an attack on the LGBTQ community as one of the "target groups" of state repression. The goal of these attacks seems to be to intimidate and dismantle networks of solidarity among activists and the targeted groups who are struggling to build teams both abroad and within the country.

We also note that Article 343 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus (distribution of pornography) has been used for repressions against LGBTQ people and has become a tool of the Lukashenko regime to criminalize identity. We believe this is directly linked to recent legislative efforts to intensify repression against LGBTQ people, including a Ministry of Culture decree that essentially equated the demonstration of LGBTQ identity with pornography. We see that the state has moved from the "theoretical threat" phase to real actions, and we anticipate that the situation will worsen in 2025.

Cases:

Activist organizations have reported cases of physical and psychological violence, searches, recruitment, and attempts by law enforcement to infiltrate organizations. Many teams working in Belarus have faced personal attacks and arrests of their members. Currently, at least five activists from queer initiatives are in pre-trial detention. Some activists and volunteers were forced to evacuate the country urgently after being released from detention or under threat of arrest. In most cases, information about detentions or the individuals' connection to queer activism cannot be made public, as they are under non-disclosure agreements, and their families are threatened with harsher punishment if human rights organizations publicize the cases.

Transgender people have been particularly targeted. In September alone, the Belarusian human rights initiative "TG House" recorded 8 cases of persecution of transgender people and their relatives due to their gender identity. Most of these individuals were not involved in the activist sector, and the violence they suffered was clearly motivated by transphobia.

Key cases:

• On September 14, 2024, a transgender woman and her partner were detained in Minsk on suspicion of "extremist materials**,**" although Article 343 (production of pornography) was cited in the protocol. The woman was beaten and subjected to psychological abuse during the arrest.
• On September 6, 2024, a transgender woman, a student at a state university, was detained in Brest under Article 19.1 of the Administrative Code (distribution of extremist materials). The arrest was carried out under the pretext of a summons to the dean's office, highlighting the cooperation between educational institutions and law enforcement. During the arrest, the woman was threatened with physical violence and verbally abused for her gender identity. She was fined 10 basic units.
• On September 15, 2024, a transgender man working as a teacher in a regional school was detained, abused, and humiliated based on his SOGI. Under pressure from the city prosecutor's office, he was unlawfully dismissed. The detention protocol accused him of producing pornography, citing only his transgender transition as evidence.
• On September 16, in a regional city, three transgender women living together were subjected to a transphobic attack by law enforcement under the guise of a search. They were beaten, and at least one woman is currently a defendant in a criminal case under Article 343.
• On September 21, 2024, a transgender woman was detained on the streets of Minsk and subjected to violence and humiliation at the police station. Her persecution began in March 2024, when her home was searched on suspicion of selling pornographic content. After her detention and the violence she endured, she sought psychological help from the "TG House" initiative, as she was experiencing suicidal thoughts.

Activist initiatives whose colleagues were arrested, had their offices searched, or were summoned for interrogations have reported severe psychological pressure and threats directly linked to their SOGI status and their activism in gender education and LGBTQ rights.

Until September 2024, most queer organizations operated in complete or partial secrecy (e.g., anonymous events, enhanced information security measures, private community accounts), and this strategy had yielded good results amid the destruction and liquidation of NGOs. However, the events of September and the new wave of pressure on queer people have left the activist sector with a difficult choice: either to refrain from publicizing the repressions to maintain contact with their target groups or to go fully public and mobilize the community, which increases risks for activists and has drawn criticism from some parts of the LGBTQ community for alarmism.

Nevertheless, it is clear that this alarming trend has been acknowledged by Belarusian human rights organizations such as "Viasna" and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC). For example, during some cases of arrests and searches connected to other civil society organizations (such as the youth organization ABF), individuals were threatened with prosecution for "participating in queer events" based on photos or registration sheets found. Initiatives that supported the campaign to expose repressions faced requests to remove photos from LGBTQ cultural or educational events from a decade ago, unrelated to the political events of 2020. This shows that the activist sector will need new tools to reach target groups within Belarus, who have faced barriers to accessing information about the LGBTQ community and the legal situation in the country for the past four years.

Given this situation, we call on international organizations, foundations, and allies from independent democratic media to stand in solidarity and pay attention to the Belarusian context:

• We ask that international support strategies, including information campaigns and requests to representatives of official Minsk or democratic forces in Belarus, be coordinated with LGBTQ and/or human rights organizations from Belarus. We remind that in every case related to repressions, the decision on publicity should first be made by the affected person, their relatives, and the organization to which they belong**. Support those teams and initiatives that have gone public**, and respect the right of others to choose different strategies, including rejecting alarmist rhetoric. The choice of long-term strategy in a situation of repression is neither simple nor clear-cut.
• Do not reduce your support for Belarusian initiatives, and continue to show interest in the Belarusian context. In a world with many points of tension, it is crucial that the human rights community does not allow the hierarchy of harm and the "comparison of traumas." The lives and safety of Belarusian queer people and activists are as important and significant today as they were in 2020.
• We ask for support in lobbying for any visa and/or evacuation assistance that democratic countries can offer to Belarusian citizens. Unfortunately, Belarusian queer initiatives have recently faced the need to urgently evacuate people in real-time. Activist organizations abroad need efficient processes to build connections with stakeholders within democratic countries to lobby for the community's interests.