Belarus detains at least 88 over alleged ties to military monitoring group, rights watchdog says
At least 88 people have been detained across Belarus for alleged connections to the military monitoring group Belarusian Hajun, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported on Oct. 13.
The group was an open-source intelligence project that tracked Russian and Belarusian troop movements and other military activity in Belarus from the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
It became an important information source for Belarusian, Ukrainian, and international media outlets.
The monitoring project was forced to close in February after its contact database was hacked. Belarusian security forces reportedly gained access to personal information of contributors and supporters.
Belarusian Hajun's founder, Anton Motolko, later confirmed the breach.
Since the hack, detentions of individuals allegedly connected to Belarusian Hajun have continued nationwide, with most arrests concentrated in Belarus' southeastern Gomel Oblast. Viasna said it had verified at least 88 cases of people held in custody, but the real number is believed to be higher.
"Since September began, 68 people convicted of 'promoting extremism' have been added to the 'list of extremists.' This is more than a third of all people added to the list during this period," Viasna said.
"Some of them are figures in the 'Hajun case,' about whom human rights activists are unaware."
According to the human rights group, court hearings in the case are taking place almost daily, with defendants receiving both suspended sentences and prison terms.
Some cases have reportedly been transferred from Minsk to regional courts.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry condemned the arrests, calling them part of an effort by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko's regime to build an "exchange fund" for political leverage.
"Such detentions are intended to create an 'exchange fund' through which the regime hopes to buy indulgences in exchange for innocent people," the ministry said in a statement.
"We emphasize that the repressions of the Belarusian regime constitute a systematic and gross violation of human rights... The mass arrests and imprisonment of Belarusian citizens under the so-called 'Hajun case' are unconditional proof of this," it added.
Belarus under Lukashenko has faced international condemnation for widespread human rights abuses. Authorities have dismantled the rule of law and silenced political opposition.
Torture, arbitrary detention, and politically motivated prosecutions remain widespread, with thousands of Belarusians still imprisoned or forced into exile.
Lukashenko, who has governed Belarus since 1994, allowed Russian forces to launch an offensive against Ukraine from Belarusian territory at the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022.
