Media IQ and Obychnoe Utro media projects declared extremist formations
On June 25, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus’ website included the Media IQ project (along with affiliated social media pages and messengers) and the Obychnoe Utro initiative on its list of “extremist formations”.
As stated on the agency’s website, the State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus adopted two decisions on June 18, 2024. The first decision recognized a group of citizens as an extremist formation, and the second banned its activities. Both decisions took effect on the same day.
The following citizens have been identified as members of a group who carried out “extremist activities” as part of Media IQ: Nadzeya Belakhvostsik, Aliaksei Khudanau, Daria Hlukhava, Pavel Bykouski, Alena Verashchahina, Anton Saifulayeu, Palina Pitkevich, Ala Sharko, and Viktar Malisheuski.
The following list of Internet resources related to the project is included in the KGB decision:
- Website mediaiq.info,
- Facebook account (facebook.com/mediaIQBelarus),
- Instagram page (instagram.com/mediaiq_official),
- TikTok account (tiktok.com@mediaiq_belarus),
- Linktree page (linktr.ee/mediaiq_official),
- YouTube channel (youtube.com/@mediaiqbelarus),
- Telegram channel (t.me/mediaiqBelarus),
- Telegram bot (t.me/@MediaIQBelarus_bot).
On June 14, the Ministry of Information included these resources in the republican list of extremist materials. The Facebook account was included in the list twice. Some Internet resources mentioned by the Ministry of Information and the KGB no longer exist.
The KGB has indicated that Kanstantsin Misuna and Liudmila Labunskaya are associated with the “extremist activities” of the Obychnoe Utro initiative.
The pages mentioned in the State Security Committee’s decision are:
- TikTok (tiktok.com@usual_morning),
- Instagram (instagram.com/usual_morning),
- Telegram (t.me/usual_morning),
- YouTube channel (youtube.com/@utro).
In May of this year, the Ministry of Information also included these online resources in its list of extremist materials.
Under the current legislation of Belarus, individuals who are recognized as participants in an extremist formation may be held criminally liable under the articles “Creation of or Participation in an Extremist Formation” (Article 361–1 of the Criminal Code) or “Promoting Extremist Activities” (Article 361–4 of the Criminal Code). The penalties for these offenses may include up to 10 years of imprisonment.