The Ministry of Education, Science and Sport condemns the Belarussian decision to declare the European Humanities University in Lithuania an “extremist organisation”
The Ministry of Education, Science and Sport considers the unprecedented decision of the Supreme Court of Belarus of 14 April 2026 to declare the European Humanities University in Lithuania an “extremist organisation” as a gross violation of academic freedom, a denial of autonomy of universities and a restriction of human rights and freedoms.
“We call on the Lithuanian and international academic communities to unanimously and unambiguously condemn this decision as incompatible with the fundamental principles of academic freedom and human rights, to express our strong and unequivocal support for the European Humanities University community, and to actively defend academic freedom as a fundamental value of the academic community, which must not be constrained by political decisions or ideological interests,” said Minister of Education, Science and Sport Raminta Popovienė.
The European Humanities University is a higher education institution based in Vilnius, Lithuania, operating in exile and aiming to foster civil society through contemporary education in the liberal arts and humanities. The University was established with a view of providing quality higher education opportunities for students from Belarus and a wider Eastern European region.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Sport intends to appeal to the European Commission and to the ministers responsible for higher education in the European Union, to call for solidarity and unanimous condemnation of such actions against the academic community.
Last updated: 23-04-2026
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