The Supreme Court of Belarus has labeled a group called BYPOL, which unites former law enforcement officers who support opposition politicians, as a terrorist organization.
The Prosecutor-General's Office said on August 31 that it initiated the hearing, which also outlawed BYPOL's structural branches, the Situational Analytical Center and Victory Mobilization Plan, as terrorist groups.
They accuse BYPOL of involvement in the "formation of radical ideas in society and pushing citizens to conduct extremist activities aiming to change the constitutional order" of Belarus.
BYPOL was founded in 2020 in the wake of unprecedented mass protests questioning official presidential election results giving a victory and sixth term to authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka earlier in the year.
Lukashenka had been in power since 1994.
BYPOL's members have said the group was created to investigate police brutality during the violent dispersal of the anti-Lukashenka rallies and to convince active police officers to "take the Belarusian people's side" to stop the massive crackdown to suppress the monthslong protests.
The opposition and the West say the poll was rigged and followed the persecution and exclusion of potential challengers.
Many opposition politicians and activists have since been forced to leave the country or have been jailed.
