“Writers are targeted because words travel. A poem can cross a border its author cannot. A report can outlive the censor who tried to bury it. Every action taken in support of a prisoner and every name said out loud is an act of defiance against the silence governments are counting on”. Ma Thida, Chair of PEN International Writers in Prison Committee
15 November: Every year on the Day of the Imprisoned Writer, PEN International stands with writers who are jailed, silenced or disappeared for their words. This year, from 15 November to 10 December, we are asking you to stand with five of them: Pham Doan Trang (Vietnam), Henry Constantín Ferreiro (Cuba), Ahmed Mansoor (United Arab Emirates), Vacłaŭ Areška (Belarus) and Innocent Bahati (Rwanda).
The governments holding them are counting on silence. Let’s give them noise.
Take action for Vacłaŭ Areška (Belarus)
Name: Vacłaŭ Areška
Occupation: Editor, political scientist, trade union activist
Situation: Imprisoned
#VacłaŭAreška
#DayoftheImprisonedWriter
Editor, political scientist, and trade union activist Vacłaŭ Areška is serving an eight-year prison sentence in Belarus on spurious grounds. He reportedly lost his eyesight in detention due to being denied access to adequate healthcare. He must be freed immediately and unconditionally. Pending his release, he must be urgently granted adequate healthcare as well as reasonable prison accommodation.
How you can help:
1. Write a message of hope to Vacłaŭ Areška
Send him a message of solidarity to let him know that he has not been forgotten.
2. Write to your diplomatic contacts
PEN International calls on the Belarusian authorities to:
- Release Vacłaŭ Areška immediately and unconditionally.
- Ensure that, pending his release, Areška is held in conditions that meet international human rights standards for the treatment of prisoners, including by providing him urgent access to adequate healthcare and reasonable prison accommodation.
- End their alarming crackdown on dissent and uphold Belarusian language, culture and identity.
Send your appeals to:
Presidential Administration of Belarus
Address: Independence Palace, Praspiekt Pieramožcaŭ 12, Minsk, Minskaja Voblasć, Belarus
Please send electronic copies to:
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus: Maxim Ryzhenkov. Email: [email protected].
The Embassy of Belarus in your own country. Embassy addresses may be found here.
Please inform PEN International of any action you take and any feedback you receive.
PEN International further urges the international community to continue to exert pressure on the Belarusian authorities to release those imprisoned on political grounds – including Areška – and to protect Belarusian cultural figures at risk – including by implementing the Luxembourg Solutions for Belarusians in exile. Appeals can be sent to your Ministry of Foreign Affairs and your diplomatic representatives in Belarus.
3. Share the campaign on social media
Spread the word about Vacłaŭ Areška’s case on social media. Use the sample messages below with the hashtags #VacłaŭAreška and #DayoftheImprisonedWriter, tagging @peninternational.bsky.social and penbelarus.bsky.social (Bluesky), @peninternational and @pen_belarus (Instagram), facebook.com/peninternational and facebook.com/penbelarus.org (Facebook).
Facebook/Instagram
On this #DayoftheImprisonedWriter, take action for Belarusian editor, political scientist and trade union activist Vacłaŭ Areška, who is serving an eight-year prison sentence on spurious grounds and has reportedly lost his eyesight in detention.
Urge the Belarusian authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally and ensure he receives urgent access to adequate healthcare and reasonable prison accommodation pending his release.
#VacłaŭAreška
Bluesky
Belarusian writer and trade union activist #VacłaŭAreška is serving an eight-year prison sentence and has reportedly lost his eyesight in detention. On this #DayoftheImprisonedWriter, demand his immediate and unconditional release, and urgent access to healthcare. Take action.
Visuals
4. Print Designs to Show Your Support
We’ve prepared print-ready designs that you can download for free and print on T-shirts, hoodies, tote bags, and other items.
Read more about Vacłaŭ Areška’s case
Editor of the Belarusian Radio and Electronic Industry Workers’ Union (REP)’s bulletin, Vacłaŭ Areška was arrested on 19 April 2022 alongside several independent trade union leaders, as the Belarusian authorities intensified their crackdown on civil society following the fraudulent presidential elections of August 2020. On 11 April 2022, REP was declared ‘extremist’ by the authorities and promptly banned. Areška stood accused of ‘incitement of measures of a restrictive nature (sanctions) and other actions aimed at causing harm to the national security of Belarus’’ (Article 361 of the Belarusian Criminal Code), ‘creation of an extremist group or participation in it’ (Article 361.1), and ‘incitement to racial, national or religious hatred or discord’ (Article 130).
His trial opened in Minsk on 25 November 2022. He was found guilty on 5 January 2023 and sentenced to eight years in prison. The Supreme Court of Belarus upheld the verdict on 3 April 2023. Areška was added to the country’s list of ‘extremists’ on 5 May 2023. His eyesight seriously deteriorated in detention due to being denied access to adequate healthcare; he is now reportedly blind. He is also said to suffer from high blood pressure and problems with his back and legs. Human rights organisations – including PEN Belarus – have repeatedly urged his release on humanitarian grounds. He is currently being held in a medium-security penal colony in Ivacevičy, southwestern Belarus, in conditions that amount to torture and other ill-treatment.
Areška’s case is emblematic of the relentless crackdown on independent voices unleashed by the Belarusian authorities since August 2020. Despite releases from prison in 2025 and 2026 following negotiations aimed at lifting economic sanctions, many Belarusian writers continue to be deprived of their liberty on politically motivated grounds. At least 115 cultural figures, including 19 writers and other literary professionals, remain imprisoned or under house arrest at the time of writing. Releases have taken place alongside new arrests and the opening of criminal cases on spurious grounds. Many cultural figures forcibly expelled from Belarus and released into exile, had their passports confiscated or remain on the Belarusian authorities’ lists of ‘extremists’ and ‘terrorists’. At the same time, the number of banned books has risen to at least 390. As documented by PEN Belarus, the banning of books has evolved into a systematic and deliberate policy aimed at suppressing dissent and establishing full control over the information space.
Born on 18 January 1955, Vacłaŭ Areška graduated from the Belarusian State Academy of Arts with a major in theatre studies. He taught at the Belarusian State Academy of Arts and translated works of the Belarusian Baroque from the Old Polish language. His texts were published in several magazines including Spadchyna, Arche and pARTisan. In March 2026, PEN Belarus launched a global campaign in support of Areška. Materials are available here.
Share
Thank you for supporting Vacłaŭ Areška. Please share his story on social media to urge others to stand against the Belarusian authorities’ crackdown on dissent.
- For further details contact Aurélia Dondo, Head of Europe and Central Asia Region at PEN International: [email protected]
- For media queries, please contact Sabrina Tucci, Head of Communications and Campaigns at PEN International:[email protected]