At least 143 arrested in January 23 raids – activist

January 25, Pozirk. At least 143 people have been detained in Belarus since January 23, Andrej Stryžak, co-founder of the BySol Foundation, has said on Telegram.

“We keep working to protecting our people,” he added.

The wave of arrests targeting political prisoners’ families and their supporters swept across Belarus on January 23.  Some of the arrests were reportedly linked to the INeedHelpBY, an opposition initiative that helps reprisal victims with food. A week earlier, authorities branded it an “extremist” group.

However, IneedHelpBY has not recorded any “system hacks and information leaks” that could expose its volunteers to danger, its head Filip Haŭryšaŭ said on Instagram.

He noted that some detainees were asked questions about food parcels from INeedHelpBY. Most have been released as police have no evidence to prove their communication with the initiative, he noted.

“The main idea is that no one gets help personally from the initiative,” Haŭryšaŭ said. “Belarusians in difficult financial situations receive help from their concerned compatriots, who want to help with food. That is, individuals help other individuals voluntarily with charitable intentions.”

All assistance is not directly linked to INeedHelpBY, but to people, he stressed.

He urged followers based in Belarus to unfollow the INeedHelpBY social media, delete the initiative’s Telegram bot because of its “extremist” designation and contact support service to delete all personal data, if needed.

Belarusian expats launched INeedHelpBY in 2020 to help reprisal victims buy food. On January 16, the Committee for State Security branded it an “extremist” group.