{"id":174517,"date":"2026-02-06T11:55:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T08:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/174517\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"reprisals-convictions-in-bielaruski-hajun-case-exceed-330-one-year-after-crackdown","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/174517\/","title":{"rendered":"Reprisals: convictions in Bie\u0142aruski Hajun case exceed 330 one year after crackdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

February 6, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Yesterday marked one year since Belarusian authorities gained access to the chat of the Bie\u0142aruski Hajun opposition initiative that monitored Russian military activities in Belarus. The project folded soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least 335 people were convicted over communications through the chat, but rights defenders know only 175 names, the Viasna Human Rights Center said. Arrests and trials reportedly continue across Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other cases of politically-motivated persecution documented in Belarus on February 5 included a guilty verdict in Viciebsk against Maksim Siamitka, a former honor guard who worked as a security guard at diplomatic missions and was accused of facilitating extremism, Na\u0161a Niva <\/em>reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials harassed Anastasija \u010carnia\u016dskaja, owner of the rural guesthouse in Ma\u0142adzie\u010dna, Minsk region, after she complained on TikTok about a cow herd that she had to chase off her property on February 4. The woman was summoned to the police and the prosecutor’s office and questioned over an alleged “extremist” character of her videos that were deleted without her knowledge, Mediazona<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Persecution of exiled activists<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investigators launched special proceedings that allow for trials in absentia against two Belarusian nationals, Alaksandar Zubryk and Stanis\u0142a\u016d Pryhodzi\u010d, the Investigative Committee said. Both face charges that Belarusian authorities routinely use to persecute their political opponents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exiled Belarusian writer Sa\u0161a Filipienka said Belarusian authorities accused him of calling for sanctions over his interview with the Obychnoe Utro<\/em> YouTube show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several of Filipienka\u2019s books are on the official list of publications banned in Belarus. Yesterday, Deputy Information Minister Dzianis Jazierski told the state-run Belarus 1 <\/em>TV channel that it now has 225 entries and is being updated once every two months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All blacklisted publications are allegedly unsuitable for raising children and \u201ccannot be considered literature at all,\u201d the official claimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pressure on prisoners<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prison authorities at Penal Colony No 22 in Ivacevi\u010dy, Brest region, stepped up pressure on people imprisoned in politically-motivated cases, sending many of them to punishment cells, where they are tortured with cold and sleep deprivation, Viasna reported. At least 59 designated political prisoners are held there at the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Families of women serving sentences at a Homiel penal colony said there was no water supply to the facility for long visits due to cold weather, with water delivered separately, MAYDAY.TEAM reported. The entire colony may face the same problem, yet inmates are strictly forbidden from discussing it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of February 6, human rights defenders identified at least 1,147 political prisoners, but the real number is considerably higher because many cases remain undocumented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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