‘While we rejoice at the sight of Belarusian writers walking free after experiencing immense suffering, we utterly condemn their forced exile. The PEN community will continue to tirelessly campaign for those still detained in Belarus, and to urge justice and accountability for the grave human rights violations committed by the authorities’, said Ma Thida, Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee.
16 September 2025 – The Belarusian authorities must urgently release writers, cultural figures, and others still detained on politically motivated grounds in Belarus and uphold their human rights, PEN International and PEN Belarus said today, after 52 prisoners were freed by presidential pardon and transferred to Lithuania. PEN International and PEN Belarus further call on the Lithuanian authorities to protect the rights of all those released.
On 11 September, 52 prisoners – including 14 who held foreign passports – were released from Belarusian prisons and sent to Vilnius, Lithuania. All had been detained following politically motivated prosecutions. The move came in the wake of a meeting between Aliaksandr Lukašenka and a US delegation in Minsk and was ostensibly part of Lukašenka’s efforts to secure sanctions relief. Amongst those released were PEN Belarus member and renowned philosopher Uladzimir Mackievič, as well as writers Mikoła Dziadok, Zmicier Daškievič, Łarysa Ščyrakova, Pavieł Mažejka and Pavieł Vinahradaŭ. Several journalists were also freed.
While PEN International and PEN Belarus welcome the writers’ long-awaited release, the organisations express deep concern at the fact that they were forced into exile, with many expressing their wish to remain in Belarus. Many of those freed were nearing the end of their terms, and notably had their passports confiscated, thus preventing them from returning to Belarus and being reunited with their loved ones. Prominent opposition politician Mikalai Statkevich, who refused to be forced into exile, reportedly made his way back to Belarus. According to information available, Statkevich was detained upon arrival and sent back to prison. His exact whereabouts remain unknown at the time of writing.
‘We welcome every life out of a cell and are glad that six writers were freed. Yet we must speak the truth: being forced into exile is not freedom but another form of punishment. Over a thousand people remain behind bars in Belarus in inhuman conditions — among them 23 writers — and new politically motivated arrests take place every day. Those released carry deep trauma; many did not choose to leave Belarus and now find themselves abroad with no family, no home, and no support network. Real freedom is the freedom to choose one’s home and future. We urge the release of all political prisoners and an end to the repression and new arrests. People must not be forced into exile but guaranteed a safe and unconditional right to return. Comprehensive support and rehabilitation must be afforded to those already forced out’ said Taciana Niadbaj, President of PEN Belarus.
Those still detained on trumped up grounds in Belarus include writer, human rights defender, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and PEN Belarus member Ales Bialiatski; lawyer, academic, writer and PEN Belarus member Maksim Znak; and journalist, writer, poet, and honorary PEN member Kaciaryna Andrejeva (Bachvałava) – amongst other writers and cultural figures. Prison conditions in Belarus amount to torture and other ill-treatment, with the Group of Independent Experts on the situation of human rights in Belarus recently accusing the Belarusian authorities of committing ‘the crimes against humanity of persecution on political grounds and imprisonment’.
Additional information
For more information about the situation for freedom of expression in Belarus, please see PEN Belarus, PEN International, and PEN America’s joint submission to the UN Human Rights Council, which documents the Belarusian authorities’ pervasive clampdown on freedom of expression, cultural rights and linguistic rights.
For more information about the work of PEN Belarus, including their monitoring of cultural and human rights violations against cultural workers, please click here.
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