Belarusian special forces stand guard near the Independence Palace, the presidential palace, during protests in Minsk, Belarus, August 30, 2020. Getty Images/Jonny Pickup
As reported by the press service of the Belarusian human rights center “Viasna”
Belarusian authorities have already imprisoned 124 people who are named in the case of the monitoring group “Belarusian Gayun”. The press service of the Belarusian human rights center “Viasna” reported this. Rights defenders note that the total number of detained and arrested is much higher, and arrests continue across the country.
The case of the monitoring group is being investigated under the article on aiding “extremist activity” (Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus).
On February 7, 2025, “Gayun” announced the cessation of its activities. The founder Anton Motolko stated that the project’s Telegram channel bot had been hacked. He noted that people who sent information and those who could be identified by account records are under threat, and urged Telegram users to delete old accounts and create new ones.
Motolko himself was sentenced in absentia in Belarus in early June 2025 to 20 years’ imprisonment. He was accused of organizing a conspiracy to seize power and of mass riots, creating an extremist formation, and a number of other crimes.
The Project and Its Context
“Belarusian Gayun” is an independent monitoring project that tracked the movements of Russian and Belarusian troops on Belarusian territory. The Telegram channel collected and analyzed information obtained from residents of the country. The Belarusian authorities declared it an “extremist formation” as early as 2022.
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