Dozens of teachers in Belarus have been detained or interrogated by authorities as part of the country's wide-ranging crackdown on dissent, a respected local human rights organization reported on Wednesday.
The moves against teachers began in September, according to a spokesman for the Viasna rights group. All those detained or questioned had participated in an online teacher-education project that the KGB, Belarus' main security agency, declared to be an extremist group in August.
The project, named Adukavanka, provided guidance on technological innovations in education and offered suggested lesson plans, attracting hundreds of teachers. The exact number of teachers who have been detained or questioned was not specified.
In a post on the Telegram messaging service, Adukavanka advised all subscribers in Belarus to cancel their registrations, stating, “Strong education is done with brains, not with truncheons.”
Belarus has a history of suppressing opposition and independent media under President Alexander Lukashenko's three-decade rule. The efforts to crush dissent intensified notably in 2020 following a disputed presidential election that granted Lukashenko a sixth term in office.
During the crackdown that ensued, more than 65,000 people were arrested, with many subjected to police brutality. Currently, all significant opposition figures are either imprisoned or have fled the country.
