Human rights defenders document first prosecutions under Belarus's "LGBT propaganda" law
The number of evacuation requests from LGBTQ+ people in Belarus has risen sharply / Euroradio
From May to August 2026, TG House, an initiative working on the rights of LGBTQ+ people, received 18 evacuation requests from Belarus. In total, 22 requests were received since the beginning of the year. During the current year, the initiative has helped eight people leave the country.
By comparison, 12 people were evacuated throughout 2025. These figures were shared with Euroradio by representatives of the initiative.
As a reminder, in 2026 Belarus introduced a law establishing liability for disseminating information about the "attractiveness" of homosexual relationships, gender reassignment, and childlessness.
Under the article, individuals face fines of up to 20 base units, sole traders up to 100, and legal entities between 100 and 150 base units.
If a minor has accessed the information, the sanctions become more severe: individuals may face a fine of between 20 and 30 base units, community service, or administrative arrest.
In total, during the first half of the year, the organisation documented 20 cases of pressure from law enforcement agencies. These include arbitrary detentions, phone checks, interrogations, and searches at the homes of relatives of activists who have left the country.
