Some defendants in the so-called “Hajun case” are being offered the opportunity to avoid criminal liability through “voluntary contributions” to state organisations, according to a report by the human rights centre Viasna. Such offers are reportedly made either at the detention stage or before trial.
Evidence of these transfers is added to case files as a mitigating circumstance, although it remains unclear whether the payments affect court verdicts. According to human rights defenders, defendants who made such contributions have received both restricted freedom sentences served at home and prison terms.
The widespread use of “voluntary donations” has reportedly been known since the summer of 2025. Initially, political prisoners wrote to relatives asking them to engage in “charity work.” Later, similar requests began to be conveyed through lawyers.
“This has now become widespread because it gives people hope for a lighter sentence. Previously, it mainly involved relatives of defendants in the Hajun case, but later families of people detained under other criminal charges also became interested in the practice,” Viasna said.
One defendant in the Hajun case whose family made a “charitable contribution” said he received a sentence of restricted freedom served at home, but knew of similar cases in which people were sentenced to imprisonment. His family made two “donations” — one to a medical institution and another to a social welfare organisation. According to him, security officers did not openly suggest making payments, but information about the practice circulated among detainees.
A former political prisoner also told Viasna that one individual detained for allegedly financing the Armed Forces of Ukraine was advised to donate to the Zhyrovichy Monastery and was released without criminal charges after making the payment.
Human rights defenders are also aware of a case in which a person detained in the Hajun case was compelled to make a “voluntary donation” in exchange for release without prosecution. For a single message sent to the Hajun bot, he was allegedly asked to transfer several thousand dollars to the account of the Republican Centre for Medical Emergency Response.
“He paid. No documents were provided afterwards, only a verbal agreement: if he paid, they would forget about him,” a source familiar with the case told Viasna. The man remained free after making the transfer.
Human rights defenders are aware of 200 people who have been convicted in the Hajun case. The total number of detainees is believed to be significantly higher. Arrests continue across Belarus, and court hearings are taking place almost every day. It is known that some defendants have been released before trial on bail.
Belarusian Hajun was an OSINT monitoring project tracking the military activity of Russian and Belarusian forces. The monitoring group was created before the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine by activist Anton Matolka. In early February 2025, security services gained access to the project’s chatbot. Following that breach, the project announced it was ceasing operations.