Belarus labels Polish Radio profiles “extremist,” citing alleged harm to state

A Belarusian court has declared two online accounts belonging to Polish Radio for Foreign Audiences – “Białoruska służba Polskiego Radia dla Zagranicy” on Telegram and “bypolskieradio” on Instagram – as “extremist.”

Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko. Photo:

Polskie Radio 24; Shutterstock/Toskana INC

The Pervomaiski District Court in Minsk ruled on Tuesday that the accounts’ content harms the Republic of Belarus, placing them on a state-maintained list of nearly 1,500 “extremist” websites and social media profiles.

The move follows previous actions by President Alexander Lukashenko’s government to curb access to Polish Radio broadcasts in Belarus.

In July 2022, officials deemed the main Polish Radio website “extremist,” and three months later also sanctioned the broadcaster’s Facebook profile.

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Source: PR24