Writer and journalist Andrzej Poczobut is serving an eight-year sentence in a medium-security penal colony on trumped up charges of inciting hatred and encouraging sanctions aimed at harming the national security of Belarus. A dual Belarusian-Polish national, Poczobut was arbitrarily detained on 25 March 2021 and spent almost two years behind bars before his unfair sentencing. He is said to have serious health problems and to be routinely denied access to correspondence, especially in Polish. According to his family, he was recently sent to solitary confinement for seven days. The reason for this punishment is not yet known.  

PEN America, PEN Belarus, PEN Armenia, and PEN Moscow Make Joint Statement on International Writers for Peace Day.

Statement by the human rights community of Belarus

Joint statement by the Belarusian human rights community

Joint statement by the Belarusian human rights community

Joint statement of human rights organizations in Belarus

22 February 2021 – The Spanish authorities must immediately release Pablo Hasél and amend legislation that stifles freedom of expression, PEN International and PEN Català said today, as the rapper starts a nine-month prison sentence for his lyrics and tweets.

Today, 6 November 2020, the Belarus PEN Centre makes the following call for international support as the government onslaught against the pro-democracy movement continues.