Israel Has Granted Refugee Status To Belarusian Citizens For The First Time

A historic decision.

Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority has issued an unprecedented decision, officially granting refugee status to Belarusian citizens for the first time. According to Haaretz, this historic decision concerns a married couple who were forced to flee their homeland to escape political persecution.

The couple, both in their fifties, had been openly opposing Alexander Lukashenko’s regime since 2020, and after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, they joined daily anti-war protests. The tipping point came in March 2022: after the arrest of a close acquaintance, the activists received direct warnings that they would be the next targets of the security forces.

Fearing imminent detention, the couple arrived in Israel in April of that year and, three months later, officially filed an application for asylum.

Faced with years of delays in the consideration of their case, the applicants appealed to the Court of Appeals, which ordered the immigration service to issue a decision no later than January 2027. However, the couple was initially denied temporary status while awaiting a decision—it was only after successfully appealing this denial in district court that the state was ordered to issue temporary permits to the Belarusians. The couple received a final positive decision on August 2—exactly four years after filing their initial application.

The publication particularly emphasizes the exceptional nature of this precedent. According to official statistics from the immigration agency, between 2019 and 2024, out of 288 asylum applications reviewed, only 21 were granted, and prior to this, not a single case involving Belarusian citizens had even reached the stage of review by the Advisory Commission on Refugee Affairs.

You can support the website Charter97.org

MULTI-CURRENCY ACCOUNT FOR ASSISTANCE:

Bank's name: Bank Millennium S.A.
Address: ul. Stanislawa Zaryna, 2A, 02-593, Warszawa
IBAN: PL97116022020000000216711123
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
Name of the account holder: Fundacja “KARTA ‘97”
Purpose/title of payment: Donation for statuary aims

You can contact us by the e-mail charter97@gmail.com