Security forces are conducting searches and interrogations across Belarus of people linked to the European Humanities University (EHU). On 14 April 2026, the Supreme Court declared the university an “extremist organization” — the first such case for a university in the country. Parents are being forced to demand their children drop out; the KGB is seizing diplomas from graduates. Financing EHU carries a penalty of up to 5 years in prison.
Context: EHU in exile and the extremist label
EHU was founded in 1992 in Minsk as a private university focused on humanities and democratic values. In 2004 the authorities revoked its license; since 2005 it has operated in exile in Vilnius. According to the press office, about 1,500 students are enrolled, roughly 80 % from Belarus.
In August 2025 a court designated EHU’s social media pages as “extremist materials.” In September the Prosecutor General filed a Supreme Court petition to declare the entire university an extremist formation. On 14 April 2026 the court granted the petition — EHU became the first university in Belarus with that status. Any ties to the university, its symbols, and its materials are prohibited.
After the ruling, about 100 students dropped out for fear of prosecution, DW and Euroradio reported. The university website hid faculty names and photos.
The “EHU case”: searches from 2 June
On 2 June 2026 the Viasna human rights center reported a criminal case over cooperation with EHU. Searches and interrogations began nationwide targeting students, alumni, their relatives, and others connected to the university.
The investigation, according to Human Rights Watch, involves charges of aiding and financing extremist activity. The case was opened against an “unidentified group of people” who allegedly collected and organized fundraising for the university since 30 April 2016 — including through tuition payments.
Viasna and REFORM.news report more than 60 searches since 2 June; raids and summons continued on 3–4 June and beyond. Officers visited people at home and at work.
Blackmailing parents and demanding withdrawal
Security officers visit students still studying in Vilnius and threaten criminal prosecution if they do not drop out. At the same time they pressure parents in Belarus:
“Officers say it straight: if their children do not withdraw from EHU, the students’ relatives will be detained as part of the criminal case.”
Parents are forced to contact their children and demand withdrawal and return to Belarus. They are given up to 10 days to secure expulsion from the university. According to Viasna and Nasha Niva, some relatives have already been detained. In at least 20 cases, officers demanded that parents call their children and obtain written confirmation of withdrawal.
Viasna lawyer Svetlana Golovnyova notes that persecution has targeted not only students but also parents who paid tuition or transferred money to children living in Lithuania.
Diplomas and searches of alumni
The KGB is visiting graduates — cases are known for cohorts from 2019 through 2025. They demand to see or hand over diplomas confirming graduation from EHU. In one case described by Nasha Niva, two people who identified themselves as KGB officers — without showing documents — searched the parents of a graduate. After the raid they demanded that the son send a copy of his diploma, claiming he would then “avoid punishment.”
Human rights defenders advise not to present diplomas or hand over documents proving ties to EHU — they can become evidence in a criminal case.
Criminal liability: up to 5, 6, and 7 years
In May 2026 the head of the prosecutor’s department in the Vitebsk region said that after EHU was declared extremist, “any financial operations, including tuition fees and donations, qualify as financing extremist activities” under Article 361-2 of the Criminal Code — punishable by up to 5 years in prison, HRW reports.
He also said employment, teaching, and continuing studies at EHU are treated as participation in an extremist formation — up to 6 years. Using the university’s symbols, distributing its materials, and following it on social media can also lead to prosecution. BBC and DW note that creating or leading an “extremist organization” carries up to 7–10 years.
EHU and human rights groups respond
EHU said it is not responsible for the actions of security forces and continues to support students and faculty with guidance and individual assistance.
Viasna and Human Rights Watch call the campaign transnational repression and a violation of the right to education, academic freedom, and freedom of expression. Defenders do not recommend that students, alumni, teachers, or anyone linked to EHU return to Belarus or interact with the university’s social media from inside the country.
Viasna lawyer Golovnyova advises students in Lithuania not to comply with demands to drop out and return: “No one guarantees that upon return people won’t be forced to record apology videos.” Legal help is available via Viasna’s hotline (@ViasnaSOS, @SOSViasna) and @zvarot96.
Bottom line
Declaring EHU an “extremist organization” has turned ties to one of the main centers of independent education for Belarusians into a potential crime — including tuition paid ten years ago. The mass searches since 2 June show the regime is using the extremist label not only to pressure the university in exile but to blackmail families inside the country — through parents, diplomas, and any financial transfers.