As of 31 December 2024, at least 168 cultural figures, including not less than 37 People of Word, were not free – behind bars or in home confinement.
The trial of showman and stand-up comedian Sciapan Mankievič has begun.
The Supreme Court rejected the appeal of printer Aleh Syčoŭ.
Stand-up comedian Viačasłaŭ (Słava) Kamisaranka was sentenced in absentia to six years in a minimum-security penal colony.
The head of the rural cultural centre in the village of Čapuki, Mirasłava Cycyna, and a Russian language teacher from Orša, Ludmiła Karol, were punished under Part 2 of Article 19.11 of the Code of Administrative Offences (“distribution of extremist materials”) for subscribing to independent news outlets.
Journalist and poet Dzianis Ivašyn was placed in a punishment cell in Prison No. 8.
A court labelled a book about Russian politician Boris Nemtsov “extremist.”
Santa Claus, Jingle Bells, and other English songs were banned in Minsk schools.
I. Criminal prosecution of cultural figures, authors, and performers
1. On 18 December 2024, the Babrujsk District and City Court considered the case regarding the “transfer to a different type of correctional facility and change in prison regime routines” for Alaksiej Navahrodski. Alaksiej Navahrodski worked in the IT field. In 2020, he published the story Holding Hands with the Antichrist” in 2021 Illja and His Team Against the Aliens, and in 2022 Holding Hands with an Angel. On 8 April 2024, the Hrodna Regional Court sentenced Alaksiej Navahrodski to five years of imprisonment under Article 356 of the Criminal Code (state treason).
2. On 26 December, the trial of showman and stand-up comedian Sciapan Mankievič began in Minsk’s Saviecki District Court. He is charged under Article 342 of the Criminal Code (organizing, preparing or actively participating in actions that grossly violate public order).
3. On 27 December 2024, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal of Aleh Syčoŭ, making the criminal sentence final. Aleh Syčoŭ is a printer who collaborated with the Zmicier Kołas publishing house, in existence since 1998 and specializing in publishing the Belarusian translations of European authors. On 3 March 2023, Aleh Syčoŭ was detained along with his wife, Nastassia Pilko, who worked as the director of the Electronic Agent printing house. Both were placed in the KGB pre-trial detention centre. Aleh Syčoŭ was charged under Article 289 of the Criminal Code (an act of terrorism) for allegedly “attempting to commit an act of terrorism” in Mačuliščy. On 3 October 2024, the Minsk City Court sentenced Aleh Syčoŭ to nine years in a minimum-security penal colony.
4. On 30 December, the Minsk City Court sentenced stand-up comedian Viačasłaŭ (Słava) Kamisaranka in absentia to six years in a minimum-security penal colony. He was accused under Part 2 of Article 367 (slander against the president), Part 1 of Article 368 (insulting the president), and Part 1 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code (incitement of social hostility or discord). The criminal case was initiated in connection with the statements during his stand-up performances.
II. Detentions and administrative trials
1. On 20 December, the Mijory District Court punished the head of the rural cultural centre in the village of Čapuki, Mirasłava Cycyna, under Part 2 of Article 19.11 of the Code of Administrative Offences (dissemination of extremist materials) for subscribing to independent news outlets.
2. On 24 December, a court in Orša punished a Russian language teacher at the local agrarian college, Ludmiła Karol, under Part 2 of Article 19.11 of the Code of Administrative Offences (dissemination of extremist materials) for subscribing to independent news outlets.
III. Conditions in the places of incarceration
On 20 December, it became known that Dzianis Ivašyn was placed in a punishment cell in Prison No. 8 in Žodzina. His wife, Volha Ivašyina, wrote: “As usual, the reason was fabricated. The main goal was once again to throw Dzianis into solitary confinement for more torture. We don’t yet know this punishment’s exact start and end dates.” Dzianis Ivašyn is a journalist, blogger, poet, and winner of the 2024 Francišak Alachnovič Award for A Cycle of Prison Poems. Dzianis became known for his investigative journalism on the “Russian world’s” influence in Belarus and Syria, the construction of the Pojediem-Pojedim restaurant at the site of the Stalinist executions in Minsk’s Kurapaty neighbourhood, and the transfer of former Ukrainian riot police officers to the security forces of Belarus. He was detained on 12 March 2021. On 14 September 2022, the Hrodna Regional Court found Dzianis Ivašyn guilty under Article 365 (interfering in the work of a police officer) and Part 1 of Article 356 of the Criminal Code (state treason). It sentenced him to 13 years and one month in a medium-security penal colony.
IV. Repressions in the book sector
On 17 December, Minsk’s Central District Court labelled the book by Russian author Mikhail Fishman about politician Boris Nemtsov, The Successor: The Story of Boris Nemtsov and the Country Where He Did Not Become President, as “extremist.”
V. Bans on cultural traditions
Santa Claus, Jingle Bells and other songs in English were banned in Minsk schools on orders from the city authorities.
VI. Dismissals from cultural institutions
On 17 December, it became known that Maryna Dudarava was no longer the head of the Drama Theatre of the Belarusian Army in Minsk, subordinate to Belarus’ Ministry of Defense.