Belarusian security forces recruit LGBTQ+ people to inform on others

In Belarus, a practice has taken root where security forces recruit LGBTQ+ people through threats. They demand that these people pass on information about other queer individuals, and threaten criminal prosecution if they refuse to cooperate. 

The initiative TG House spoke with a queer Belarusian named Dima, who faced such persecution and was recruited by police officers. He was forced to flee Belarus because of this. 

Dima described how the security forces pressured him into gathering information about other queer people and what kind of pressure he faced.

Euroradio retells his story with some abridgements.

"My life was like being underground"

Dmitry lived an ordinary life in Belarus. At around the age of 14, he realised he was different from other teenagers. His grandmother accepted him for who he was, but he did not come out to the rest of his family.    

Dima belongs to the furry subculture, which is closely associated with the queer community. 

Speaking about life in Belarus today, Dima says that for the queer community it takes place underground. 

— I didn't tell anyone anything. And over time (when I was recruited by officers from the district police department) there came an additional feeling of having "a target on the back of my head" — a fear of walking freely around the city. I could only be myself at home. Outside the home, I had to pretend to be a different person, — Dima recalls.

The nightmare began when his belonging to the queer community became known at the college where he studied.

At one point they even told me to arrange a meeting with a guy. He ended up being detained right in front of me during a walk. After that I started warning people that I was being forced to arrange meetings with those the police were interested in, — says Dima.

The young man explains that even ordinary chats or groups have become dangerous: they are full of "plants" — people recruited by the police. 

— That is, people who have already been caught for being attracted to someone of their own sex, and who have been coerced into informing on others like them. They are given the chance to delay a visit to the district police department, and in exchange they are recruited — just like I was — and obligated to seek out and report information about people belonging to the LGBTQ+ community. Meeting people in person has become very dangerous, — says Dima.

What those who have remained in Belarus should do

The young man advises telling no one and not even hinting at who you are — keep it to yourself. If the security forces have already started hunting you, protect yourself. 

First of all, delete or remove anything that might seem suspicious or give the slightest hint. Make sure your partner does the same.

If the situation has already reached the point of recruitment, give them the information they want to hear. Provide only a first name and age — there are many people like that, and finding a specific individual is almost impossible. Always ask people to send photos with one-time viewing enabled, so that no screenshot can be taken or image saved. If they ask for the place of residence of those you are supposed to inform on, name only the city, without any further details.

And always plan ahead for a possible evacuation from Belarus.