ByHelp set to support imprisoned dissenters despite crackdown

January 24, Pozirk. The government’s attack on a network helping political prisoners in Belarus hampers its work but it will carry on, Alaksiej Lavončyk, a co-founder of the ByHelp and BySol foundations, has told Pozirk.

That was “a systemic crackdown on the aid infrastructure in Belarus,” the activist said, referring to January 23 arrests across the country. He noted that hours before the raids, the BySol website and some related Instagram pages came under a heavy cyberattack.

“We have relied on our network in Belarus and will continue doing so,” Lavončyk stressed. “If we leave, nobody will help them [political prisoners] anymore.. . . We keep working while regularly assessing the effectiveness of [our] security protocols. “

So far, not a single recipient of ByHelp assistance has been formally charges in connection with receiving or using it, he noted. The foundation will maintain its current structure as long as its staff is safe, he added.

“Our capabilities to deliver aid have increased, so did the demand,” Lavončyk stressed, summing up 2023.

“We have people who help in Belarus. They brave the risk of being sentenced to 10 years in prison, not three. Some former civil servants, although they quit a long time ago, risk like those police officers who sided with the people and were later given 18 years for ‘high treason,’” he said.

At least 84 people were detained and interrogated yesterday, the Viasna Human Rights Center said.

Some were arrested, others were searched and released. Those released received gagging orders.

The exact number of detainees is unknown. During the raids, Committee for State Security (KGB) officers produced warrants with references to extremism-related articles of the Criminal Code.

Some of the arrests were linked to INeedHelpBY, a group that helps repression victims with food, unconfirmed reports said. One day earlier, the KGB declared it an extremist organization.