As of 15 July 2025, at least 156 cultural figures, including 39 writers, were not free – either imprisoned or in home confinement.
On 9 July 2025, human rights defenders recognised Aleh Chamienka, the leader of the band Pałac and a folklore researcher, as a political prisoner, following the opening of a criminal case against him for cooperating with independent media outlets.
Ihar Słučak, a promoter of the Belarusian language, was put on the international wanted list based on a politically motivated criminal case.
The health condition of researcher Valeryja Kasciuhova reportedly deteriorated in women’s penal colony No. 4 in Homiel, where she is serving her prison sentence.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has designated the Belarusian folk-punk band Dzieciuki as an “extremist formation”.
Authorities banned an event dedicated to the poet Łarysa Hienijuš at the Parason gallery in Minsk.
І. Criminal prosecution of cultural figures, authors, and performers
1. On 9 July 2025, human rights defenders recognised Aleh Chamienka, the leader of the contemporary folk band Pałac, a lecturer, researcher of Belarusian folklore, composer, author of texts on cultural studies, and a radio host, as a political prisoner. He was detained in Minsk on 25 June. A criminal case was opened against him for cooperating with an independent Belarusian media outlet listed as an “extremist formation”. He is currently held in the pre-trial detention centre No. 1.
2. On 14 July, reports emerged that Ihar Słučak, a promoter of the Belarusian language, appeared on the international wanted list due to the politically motivated criminal case initiated under Article 361-4 (Part 2) of the Criminal Code (facilitating extremist activity) on 22 May 2024.
II. Conditions in the places of incarceration
1. On 13 July, Ihar Karniej, a journalist, essayist, and author of texts on Belarusian cultural and historical heritage, as well as a travel blogger who had been released from prison three weeks earlier, wrote on his Facebook page about food experience in Belarusian penal colonies: “The system, especially in Belarus, is designed to deprive prisoners of even the most basic needs. This includes food, which is why many people leave prison physically depleted. […] As for meat, it reaches your aluminium bowl in the form of a so-called ‘polar bear’ – boiled lard, a semi-transparent lump of grease. Unlike with pearl barley peas, even the condition of permanent hunger couldn’t overcome the disgust for this biomass. […]
Once back in humane conditions, the natural temptation is to devour everything you used to dream of while imprisoned: a big piece of meat, proper fish, scrambled eggs with cracklings, pancakes, borscht (!), salad with sour cream, strawberries, cherries, and an apple. And to wash it all down with kefir, tomato juice, Coke, and beer all at the same time. A hunger-induced madness that eventually fades, but why, in the 21st century, must people be driven to such torment?”
2. The health condition of researcher Valeryja Kasciuhova, who is serving a sentence in women’s penal colony No. 4 in Homiel, has reportedly deteriorated. “She constantly requires special care and a dietary regimen, which are not being provided. She is denied access to a lighter work regime. The quality of food, lack of sleep and rest, and her psychological condition are all worsening her health,” said a source.
Valeryja Kasciuhova is the founder and editor of the expert community website Naše Mnienije, editor and author of the annual analytical publication Belarusian Yearbook, and head of the expert group Belarus in Focus.
She was detained in Minsk on 30 June 2021. On 17 March 2023, the Minsk City Court sentenced researchers Valeryja Kasciuhova and Tacciana Kuzina each to ten years in a minimum-security penal colony, finding them guilty under three articles of the Criminal Code: Article 357 Part 1 (assisting actions committed with the aim of seizing power; Article 361 Part 3 (calls for actions aimed at harming national security), Article 130 Part 3 (inciting social hatred and discord).
III. Repression in the field of music
On 10 July, the Ministry of Internal Affairs designated the Belarusian folk-punk band Dzieciuki as an “extremist formation”, listing its members Alaksandr Dzianisaŭ, Uładzisłaŭ Biernat, Dzianis Šmatko, Cimafiej Štaroŭ, Alaksiej Pudzin and Piotr Dudanovič as extremists. Dzieciuki are known for incorporating Belarusian folk motifs and historical themes into their songs.
IV. Censorship, bans on cultural events
On 8 July, a planned literary evening dedicated to poet Łarysa Hienijuš was banned at the Parason gallery in Minsk. Poet and literary scholar Michaś Skobła was invited to host the event. The announcement of the readings drew attention from pro-government propagandists. Łarysa Hienijuš (1910–1983) was a Belarusian poet and political activist. She was arrested in Prague in 1948 and extradited to the BSSR. In February 1949, the Supreme Court of the BSSR sentenced her to 25 years in labour camps for “aiding the international bourgeoisie”. While imprisoned, she wrote poetry, which circulated among prisoners in handwritten form. Her poems were called “glucose” by fellow inmates because they gave them the strength to carry on. She was released in 1956, lived in Zelva, and refused to accept Soviet citizenship until her death. She has not been rehabilitated to this day.