Belarus is moving to dissolve two more religious associations, the Bahá’í community and the Spiritual Directorate of Muslims. In both cases, the decision was made by the Commissioner for Religious and Ethnic Affairs.

This was reported by the human rights organisation Christian Vision, citing the Unified State Register.

Including previously identified decisions concerning two Lutheran associations, four national religious associations are now known to have been targeted for dissolution in 2026.

The Bahá’ís are followers of an independent religion founded in the 19th century in Persia (modern-day Iran) by Bahá’u’lláh. They believe in one God, regard the world’s religions as successive stages in the revelation of divine teachings, and advocate the unity of humanity and equality for all people.

As LF previously reported, at least 35 religious organisations were forcibly dissolved in Belarus in September this year.

In Belarus, the Commissioner for Religious and Ethnic Affairs ordered the dissolution of the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church. Earlier, the Vitebsk Regional Court had ruled to dissolve the Religious Association of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Belarus.

We previously reported that the number of religious communities in Belarus had declined following mandatory re-registration under new legislation. In the Mogilev Region, half of all Catholic parishes ceased operating after re-registration. In the Vitebsk Region, the number of Roman Catholic communities fell from 94 to 85, while in the Brest Region, it declined from 66 to 60.

We also previously reported that the authorities had dissolved all Greek Catholic parishes in the Brest Region. The court ruling cited an alleged “threat to national interests”.