E-NEWSLETTER: LGBTQ+ IN BELARUS 11-12.2025
Within the period of November – December 2025, the LGBTIQ+ people in Belarus lived in an atmosphere of fear and oppression, since new anti-LGBTIQ+ legislative acts adopted by the Belarusian come into force in Belarus on January 12, 2026. They provide absurd grounds, contradicting common sense, the Constitution of Belarus, and international law, for the persecution and discrimination of LGBTIQ+ people simply because of who they were born and who they are, as well as for the harassment of their families and loved ones.
The Belarusian law enforcement authorities continue to put pressure on the representatives of LGBTIQ+ community. Thus, gay men are summoned for ‘talks’ at police stations as ‘witnesses’ for fictitious reasons. And they are actively persuaded to start ‘cooperation’ with the law enforcement, as European Radio for Belarus reports.
The interviewed gay men’s mobile phones are taken away from them at police stations. The law enforcement agents read their correspondence and connect their smartphones to the police computer equipment. If they find information that proves that they are part of LGBTIQ+ community, the gay men are persuaded to begin ‘cooperation’ with the police, i.e. to provide information about other LGBTIQ+ people in Belarus.
Law enforcement officers threaten to reveal the sexual orientation of the invited gay men to their relatives and at work.
It should be reminded that as per the Belarus’ Ministry of Culture resolution No. 24, adopted on March 19, 2024, the mere public appearance of a queer person or public support of LGBTIQ+ community and individuals offline or on social media is regarded as an act of ‘pornography’ in Belarus, punishable criminally with a jail term of up to ten years (Article 343 of the Criminal Code of Belarus).
New amendments to the Belarus Law ‘On Protection of Children’ were adopted as the Law #87-3 in the second reading by the Belarusian Parliament on July 12, 2025. They come into force in six months, i.e. on January 12, 2026.
According to the legislative amendments, there was expanded the list of information, which is regarded as harmful to the psychological health and development of a child by adding the information ‘aimed at promoting homosexual relations, sex reassignment, pedophilia, and childlessness.’ This effectively denies youngsters access to information on same-sex relations and sex reassignment and makes their parents, teachers, journalists and others legally liable for ‘exposing’ the children to any information about queerness or for being queer themselves.
The amendments to the law are accompanied by draft Art. 19.16 of the Administrative Code of Belarus that will provide for administrative liability for ‘propaganda of homosexual relations, gender transition, childlessness, and pedophilia.’
Read full version: E-newsletter-11-12_2025
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