‘PEN members around the world have actively campaigned for the release of Kaciaryna Andrejeva and Valeryja Kaściuhova. While we rejoice at their freedom, we vehemently condemn the Belarusian authorities’ relentless campaign of repression. We stand with all those still detained in Belarus on spurious grounds and continue to urge full justice and accountability for the violations they suffered’, said Ma Thida, Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee.
24 March 2026 – The Belarusian authorities must urgently free all those still unjustly jailed for their expression in Belarus and end their brutal crackdown on dissent, PEN International and PEN Belarus said today, following the release of 250 individuals, including writers Kaciaryna Andrejeva (Bachvałava) and Valeryja Kaściuhova. Nearly 900 individuals remain behind bars on politically motivated grounds.
On 19 March 2026, 250 individuals were released from prison in Belarus following ongoing negotiations with the United States aimed at lifting economic sanctions, with 15 exiled to Lithuania and 235 remaining in Belarus. Among those released and sent into exile are journalist, writer, poet, and Honorary PEN member Kaciaryna Andrejeva (Bachvałava), blogger Eduard Palčys, as well as prominent human rights defenders Marfa Rabkova, Nasta Loika and Valiantsin Stefanovich. Writer, editor and political scientist Valeryja Kaściuhova was also freed and remains in Belarus at the time of writing.
PEN International and PEN Belarus welcome the writers’ long-awaited freedom yet reiterate concern at the fact that some were released into exile in Lithuania. The organisations call on the Lithuanian authorities to ensure these individuals have the possibility to travel to the country of their choice and are provided with clear and accessible information as well as comprehensive assistance.
Already on 13 December 2025, 123 individuals were released from prison in Belarus and sent into exile, including writers Ales Bialiatski, Aliaksandr Fiaduta and Maksim Znak. Fifty-two prisoners, including philosopher Uladzimir Mackievič, had been similarly released into exile on 11 September 2025, following a group of 14 who were released on 21 June 2025. Many had their passports confiscated. Those freed exposed how prison authorities systematically confiscated and destroyed their manuscripts, letters, and other creative works, in a bid to erase both personal testimonies and cultural memory.
The latest wave of releases comes in the wake of a systematic crackdown in Belarus, where the authorities continue to crush dissent with complete impunity. Notably, on 27 February 2026, PEN Belarus was declared ‘an extremist formation’, resulting in alleged members and supporters being liable to criminal prosecution and lengthy prison terms. Several publishers were similarly labelled ‘extremists’, with those remaining in Belarus being detained and likely to face criminal charges.
As repeatedly stressed by PEN International and PEN Belarus, prison conditions in Belarus amount to torture and other ill-treatment. Editor, political scientist, and trade union activist Vacłaŭ Areška, songwriter and singer Dźmitryj Hałavač, as well as writer, journalist and 2025 Sakharov Prize winner Andrzej Poczobut, are amongst several writers and cultural figures still imprisoned in Belarus on trumped up grounds. PEN International and PEN Belarus reiterate calls for their immediate and unconditional release, and for all those responsible for their wrongful imprisonment to be brought to account.
Additional information
An award-winning Belarusian journalist and writer, Kaciaryna Andrejeva was arrested in Minsk on 15 November 2020 while livestreaming a peaceful protest. Sentenced to two years in prison on 18 February 2021, she was handed an additional eight years on bogus charges of ‘treason against the state’ on 13 July 2022. Her non-fiction book Belarusian Donbas, co-authored with her husband, journalist Ihar Iljaš (also imprisoned on spurious grounds), was deemed ‘extremist’ by the Belarusian authorities and banned in 2021. Andrejeva started composing poetry while in prison; her poems have been published and translated by the #FreeAllWords initiative. PEN members have actively campaigned for her release. She is an Honorary member of PEN Català.
Political scientist, editor, and writer Valeryja Kaściuhova was detained on 30 June 2021 after writing several analytical pieces following the fraudulent presidential election of August 2020. She was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on 17 March 2023 on trumped up charges of calls to undermine national security, conspiracy to seize power through unconstitutional means, and incitement of social hostility. Her name was added to the government’s lists of ‘extremists’ and ‘terrorists’ in August 2023. She was reportedly in need of medical care at the time of her release and notably featured in PEN International’s 2026 International Women’s Day campaign.
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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