> The Belarusian directorate for fighting organised crime said in a statement that "subscribers to extremist Telegram channels and chats will be held criminally liable ... as members of an extremist group."

Of course, the nifty thing about this, from the perspective of a government in existential panic mode, is how easy it is to label a group as "extremist."

Want to stage a terrorist action? Extremist! Want to change the government? Extremist! Want to hold a demonstration that could draw a million angry people into the streets? Extremist! Want to complain about the ineptitude and moral decay of your elected officials? Extremist! Want to post some thoughts about current events to a news discussion site? Extremist!