Internet freedom in Belarus declined further during the coverage period. The government continued to suppress online speech, including by blocking independent media outlets and information sources, and using legislation to criminalize online materials produced by what it deemed to be “extremist” or “terrorist” groups and individuals. The government also arbitrarily arrested remaining media workers, online activists, and others.

• The Operation and Analytical Center under the President of the Republic of Belarus issued an order to internet service providers (ISPs) to restrict access to websites hosted outside of the .by domain from January 25 to January 27. The order effectively blocked most foreign websites during the country’s tightly controlled presidential election, held on January 26.1 Earlier, on January 10, reports had emerged that YouTube, Twitch, Telegram, TikTok, and Discord were blocked. The state telecommunications agency Beltelecom and the telecommunications company MTS the same day said they were conducting technical work (A3 and B1).2
• In September 2024, Marat Markau, the minister of information, announced that over 14,000 “web resources” were blocked in Belarus, including 5,000 websites that were deemed “extremist.” The list included the websites of independent media outlets and human rights organizations (B1).3
• In the lead-up to the January 2025 elections, several online media outlets deleted content about training sessions for election commissioners (B2).4
• January 2025 amendments to the guidelines “On Registration of Domain Names in the National Zone of Belarus” allowed administrators of the national domain to cancel the registration of domains that harm the “national interest of Belarus,” and add them into a new ban list (B3).5
• Throughout the coverage period, the Belarusian authorities pursued criminal charges against human rights defenders and journalists in exile. In July 2024, a Minsk court sentenced 20 people who had supported Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya online, including journalists Yury Drakakhrust and Hanna Liubakova, to 10 years in prison in absentia (C3).6
• In October 2024, Andrei Parotnikau, a military blogger who was extradited from Moscow, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on a host of charges, including treason and the “promotion of extremist activities” (C3).7
• In May 2025, it was reported that Valiantsin Shtermer, who was sentenced to prison in 2023 for comments critical of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, had died in the Škloŭ penal colony earlier in the year. He had reportedly suffered a stroke prior to being sentenced (C3 and C7).8

Belarus is an authoritarian state in which elections are openly rigged and civil liberties are severely restricted. Security forces have violently assaulted and arbitrarily detained journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens who challenge the regime. The judiciary and other institutions lack independence and provide no check on President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s power.

This report has been abridged for Freedom on the Net 2025 due to ongoing budget constraints. Please consider making a donation to support future editions of this vital resource.

For additional background information, see last year’s full report.