{"id":10968,"date":"2022-07-27T07:44:08","date_gmt":"2022-07-27T07:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/?p=10968"},"modified":"2024-06-12T13:39:33","modified_gmt":"2024-06-12T13:39:33","slug":"bel-manitoryng-parushennyau-kulturnyh-pravou-i-pravou-chalaveka-u-dachynenni-da-dzeyachau-kultury-belarus-studzen-cherven-2022-goda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2022\/07\/27\/bel-manitoryng-parushennyau-kulturnyh-pravou-i-pravou-chalaveka-u-dachynenni-da-dzeyachau-kultury-belarus-studzen-cherven-2022-goda.html","title":{"rendered":"Monitoring Violations of Cultural Rights and Human Rights of Cultural Figures. Belarus, January \u2013 June 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Since October 2019, the Belarusian PEN Center has been carrying out a systematic collecting of information on violations of cultural and human rights which impact culture workers. This document includes statistics and an analysis of violations from the first half of 2022. \u00a0Material has been prepared on the basis of generally available information collected from open sources and direct communications with cultural figures.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>Please note that for the sake of digital security, we do not provide direct links to sources if current regulatory requirements in the Republic of Belarus restrict access to those sources. For more about our methodology, consult other <a href=\"\/en\/2020\/12\/20\/pra-manitoryng-belaruskaga-pena-o-mon\u0438tor\u0438nge-belarusskogo-pen.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">parts<\/a> of our website.<\/em><\/p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff; font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>I. GENERAL RESULTS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">From January to June 2022, experts recorded <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>699<\/strong> <strong>violations<\/strong><\/span> of cultural and human rights that impacted culture workers. Among them are:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>529 violations impacting 332 culture workers and others whose general cultural rights were violated;<\/li>\n<li>111 violations impacting 96 organizations and institutions;<\/li>\n<li>41 violations related to objects of cultural or historical heritage and the Belarusian language [on a national level];<\/li>\n<li>*In this document we have also included 18 instances which meet the criteria of our monitoring and are also recognized by the Republic of Belarus as extremist.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The general types of rights violations are as follows:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-11192 size-full\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/slajd1-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" \/ loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/slajd1-3.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/slajd1-3-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/slajd1-3-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/slajd1-3-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The following are also notable:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">19 cultural figures were identified as \u201cextremists,\u201d 5 creative initiatives and media with content that is cultural in nature were recognized as \u201cextremist organizations\u201d, and 10 cultural figures were recognized as terrorists.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">37 violations of the right of correspondence in penitentiary institutions were recorded.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">33 frisk searches on cultural figures and legal persons in the cultural sphere were conducted.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff; font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>II. POLITICAL PRISONERS \u2014 CULTURE WORKERS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the human rights organization Viasna, in Belarus there are 1236 <strong>political prisoners<\/strong> <a href=\"#k_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[1]<\/a>\u00a0as of June 30, 2022.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>98<\/strong><\/span> cultural figures are among those recognized as political prisoners.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">46<\/span> <\/strong>of them are serving time <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>in prison colonies<\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">architect <strong>Arciom Takar\u010duk <\/strong>(serving 3.5 years); artist<strong> Uladzisla\u016d Makaviecki<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"#k_2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[2]<\/a> (2 years); \u00a0bard and programmer\u00a0<strong>Anatol Chinievi\u010d<\/strong>\u00a0(sentenced to 3.5 years); concert agency director\u00a0<strong>Ivan Kaniavieha\u00a0<\/strong>(3 years); artist\u00a0<strong>Alaksandr Nurdzina\u016d<\/strong>\u00a0(4 years of extra labor); documentary filmmaker and blogger \u00a0<strong>Paviel Spiryn<\/strong>\u00a0(4.5 years); writer and journalist\u00a0<strong>Kaciaryna Andrejeva<\/strong>\u00a0(Bachvalava) (2 years); \u00a0artist and animator\u00a0<strong>Ivan Viarbicki<\/strong>\u00a0(8 years and one month of extra labor); UX\/UI designer\u00a0<strong>D\u017amitryj Kubara\u016d<\/strong>\u00a0(7 years of extra labor); artist, former academy of art student\u00a0<strong>Anastasija Mironcava<\/strong>\u00a0(2 years); drummer\u00a0<strong>Alaksiej San\u010duk<\/strong>\u00a0(6 years of extra labor); culture manager\u00a0<strong>Mia Mitkievi\u010d\u00a0<\/strong>(3 years); writer and social-political\u00a0<strong>Paviel Sieviaryniec<\/strong>\u00a0(7 years of extra labor); dancers\u00a0<strong>Ihar Jarmola\u016d<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>Mikalaj Sasie\u016d<\/strong>\u00a0(each 5 years of extra labor); Patron of the arts\u00a0<strong>Viktar Babaryka<\/strong>\u00a0(14 years of extra labor); actor\u00a0<strong>Siarhiej Volka\u016d<\/strong>\u00a0(4 years of hard labor); light artist\u00a0<strong>Danila Han\u010daro\u016d<\/strong>\u00a0(2 years); musician\u00a0<strong>Paviel Lar\u010dyk\u00a0<\/strong>(3 years); poet and publicist\u00a0<strong>Ksienija Syramalot<\/strong>\u00a0(2.5 years); former students of the aesthetics department at Belarusian State Pedagogical University\u00a0<strong>Jana Orobiejko<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>Kasia Bu\u010fko<\/strong>\u00a0(each 2.5 years); former student of the Academy of Arts\u00a0<strong>Maryja Kalenik<\/strong>\u00a0(2.5 years); former student at the architectural department at Belarusian National Technical University\u00a0<strong>Viktoryja Hranko\u016dskaja<\/strong>\u00a0(2.5 years); designer and architect\u00a0<strong>Ra\u015bcisla\u016d Stefanovi\u010d<\/strong>\u00a0(8 years of extra labor); musician, DJ\u00a0<strong>Artur Amira\u016d (<\/strong>3.5 years extra labor); history teacher and social scientist\u00a0<strong>Andrej Piatro\u016dski<\/strong>\u00a0(1.5 years); poet, bard and attorney\u00a0<strong>Maksim Znak<\/strong>\u00a0(10 years of extra labor); musician and cultural project manager\u00a0<strong>Maryja Kale\u015bnikava<\/strong>\u00a0(11 years); musician\u00a0<strong>Ja\u016dhien Piatro\u016d<\/strong>\u00a0(1 year); promoter of history and human rights advocate\u00a0<strong>Ta\u0107ciana Lasica<\/strong>\u00a0(2.5 years); author of prison literature and anarcho-activist\u00a0<strong>Mikalaj Dziadok<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"#k_3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[3]<\/a> (5 years); musicians\u00a0<strong>Uladzimir Kala\u010d<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>Nadzieja Kala\u010d<\/strong>\u00a0(2 years each); promoter of history and blogger\u00a0<strong>Eduard Pal\u010dys<\/strong>\u00a0(13 years of extra labor); author of prison literature and anarcho-activist<strong>\u00a0Ihar Alinievi\u010d\u00a0<\/strong>(20 years of extra labor); musicians\u00a0<strong>Piotr Mar\u010danka, Julija Mar\u010danka (Junickaja)<\/strong>\u00a0and<strong>\u00a0Anton \u0160nip<\/strong>\u00a0(1.5 years each); artist <strong>Alie\u015b Pu\u0161kin<\/strong> (5 years of enhanced regime); litterateur, musician and author of the journal \u041d\u0430\u0448\u0430 \u0433\u0456\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0440\u044b\u044f (Our history) <strong>Andrej Skurko <\/strong>(2.5 years); author of musical projects and typography director <strong>Arciom Fiedasienka <\/strong>(4 years); history reconstructor and activist <strong>Kim Samusienka \u00a0<\/strong>(6.5 years); non-fiction author and journalist <strong>Alieh Hru\u017adzilovi\u010d <\/strong>(1.5 years); author of texts in journals \u00ab\u041d\u0430\u0448\u0430 \u0433\u0456\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0440\u044b\u044f\u00bb and \u00abArche\u00bb <strong>Andrej Aku\u0161ka<\/strong> (2.5 years); philology and former Russian and Belarusian literature and language professor <strong>Mikalaj Isajenka<\/strong> (1.5 years); musician and activist <strong>Siarhiej Spary\u0161<\/strong> (6 years of enhanced regime); non-fiction internet author and blogger <strong>Paviel Vinahrada\u016d <\/strong>(5 years).<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>5<\/strong><\/span> cultural figures are serving time by means of \u00ab<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>chemistry<\/strong><\/span>\u00bb <a href=\"#k_4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[4]<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"applewebdata:\/\/70DF6685-70EF-4819-9BEC-286AD106D33D#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Poet and director\u00a0<strong>Ihnat Sidor\u010dyk<\/strong>\u00a0(sentenced to 3 years); designer\u00a0<strong>Maksim Ta\u0107cianok<\/strong> (3 years); researcher at the Center for Belarusian Language and Literature Studies at the Academy of Sciences <strong>Alaksandr Halko\u016dski <\/strong>(1.5 years); director of a web-design studio <strong>Hlieb Kojpi\u0161 <\/strong>(2 years); cellist <strong>I\u013alia Han\u010daryk<\/strong> (4 years).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>46 <\/strong><\/span>cultural figures are <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>in pre-trial detention centers run by the MIA <\/strong><\/span>and<strong><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"> KGB<\/span>,<\/strong> awaiting either trial or transfer to places of punishment:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Culture manager and blogger\u00a0 <strong>Siarhiej Cichano\u016dski <\/strong><a href=\"#k_5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[5]<\/a> (since 29.05.2020); culture manager<strong> Eduard Babaryka<\/strong>(since 18.06.2020); documentary filmmaker and journalist <strong>Ksienija Luckina <\/strong>\u00a0(since 22.12.2020); poet, journalist, and media manager <strong>Andrej Alaksandra\u016d<\/strong> (since 12.01.2021); poet and member of the Union of Polish People<strong> Andrej Pa\u010dobut<\/strong>(since 25.03.2021); literary figure and translator <strong>Aliaksandr Fiaduta <\/strong>(since 12.04.2021); author, editor, and political scientist <strong>Valeryja Ka\u015bciuhova<\/strong> (since 30.06.2021); literary theorist, history researcher and human rights activist <strong>Ale\u015b Bialacki <\/strong>(since 14.07.2021); street artist and IT-specialist <strong>D\u017amitryj Padrez <\/strong>(since 15.07.2021); philosopher, methodologist, and publicist <strong>Uladzimir Mackievi\u010d<\/strong> (since 04.08.2021); former teacher of Belarusian language and literature <strong>\u00a0Ema Stsepulionak<\/strong> (since 29.09.2021); musician <strong>Siarhiej Daliviela<\/strong> (since 29.09.2021); librarian <strong>Julija \u010camlaj <\/strong><a href=\"#k_6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[6]<\/a> (since 30.09.2021); bass guitarist <strong>Viktar Kato\u016dski <\/strong>(since 30.09.2021); musician and violin teacher <strong>Aksana Ka\u015bpiarovi\u010d<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"#k_7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[7]<\/a> (since 30.09.2021); photographer and journalist <strong>Hienad\u017a Ma\u017eejka <\/strong>\u00a0(since 01.10.2021); librarian <strong>Julija Laptanovi\u010d <\/strong><a href=\"#k_8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[8]<\/a> (since 13.10.2021); artist and interior designer <strong>Kanstancin Prusa\u016d <\/strong>(since 28.10.2021); author and Wikipedia editor <strong>Paviel Piernika\u016d <\/strong>(since 03.11.2021); founder of Symbal.by and culture project manager <strong>Paviel Bielavus<\/strong> (since 15.11.2021); poet, translator, and journalist <strong>Andrej Ku\u017anie\u010dyk <\/strong>(since 25.11.2021); fantasy writer and journalist <strong>Siarhiej Sacuk<\/strong> (since 08.12.2021); sound operator <strong>Vadzim Dzienisienka<\/strong> (since 28.12.2021); literary figure and activist <strong>Aliena Hna\u016dk<\/strong> (since 11.01.2022); theater actress <strong>Viera \u0106vikievi\u010d <\/strong>(since 27.01.2022); jeweler and history reenactor <strong>Michail Laba\u0144 <\/strong>(since 17.02.2022); ceramicist <strong>Anastasija Mala\u0161uk <\/strong><a href=\"#k_9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[9]<\/a>(since 25.02.2022); expelled MSU student in the Germanic-Romance language philology department <strong>Danuta Pieradnia <\/strong><a href=\"#k_10\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[10]<\/a> (since 28.02.2022); sightseer and traveler <strong>Ihar Halu\u0161ka <\/strong><a href=\"#k_11\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[11]<\/a> (since 01.03.2022); musician <strong>Kry\u015bcina \u010carankova<\/strong> (since 22.03.2022); director <strong>D\u017amitryj Pancialiejka <\/strong>(since 28.03.2022); digital artist <strong>Viktar Kulinka <\/strong>(since 30.03.2022); admin of cultural-historical Telegram chanel Rezystans <strong>Mikita \u015aliepianok <\/strong>(since 06.04.2022); creative director of an architecture bureau <strong>Kanstancin Vyso\u010dyn <\/strong>(since 07.04.2022); musician <strong>Aliaksandr Kazakievi\u010d<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"#k_12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[12]<\/a>(since 09.04.2022); publicist, activist and author of prison literature <strong>\u0179micier Da\u0161kievi\u010d<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"#k_13\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[13]<\/a> (since 23.04.2022); craftsperson and administrator of the space \u00abAlpha-business hub\u00bb <strong>Aliesia Kurej\u010dyk <\/strong>\u00a0(since 24.05.2022); \u00a0commercial director of the theater group Silver screen <strong>Aliaksandr Dziemidovi\u010d <\/strong>(since 25.05.2022); musician <strong>Paviel Bialiana\u016d <\/strong>(since 02.06.2022); former producer of event agency KRONA <strong>Siarhiej Hu\u0144 <\/strong>(since 03.06.2022); musician <strong>Juryj Hryhier<\/strong> (since 03.06.2022); designer and photographer <strong>Dzianis \u0160aramie\u0107je\u016d<\/strong> (since 14.06.2022); photographer <strong>\u00a0Aliaksandr Kudlovi\u010d<\/strong> (since 16.06.2022).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Additionally, due to the repetition of several procedural actions literary person and journalist <strong>Kaciaryna Andrejeva (Bachvalava) <\/strong><a href=\"#k_14\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[14]<\/a><strong>,<\/strong> poet and founder of the literary &#8220;Honey Prize&#8221; <strong>Mikola Papieka <\/strong><a href=\"#k_15\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[15]<\/a>, ethnographer and activist <strong>Uladzimir Hundar <\/strong>has been transferred to the detention center from their places of imprisonment.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>An\u017ealika Borys<\/strong>, a chairperson of the Union of Polish People in Belarus, was transferred from pre-trial detention to <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>house arrest <\/strong><\/span>on March 25, 2022.\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"applewebdata:\/\/61428B66-F4C1-474F-952C-C8B6CFF581D8#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-11193 size-full\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/slajd2-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" \/ loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/slajd2-2.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/slajd2-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/slajd2-2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/slajd2-2-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>The sentences of the first half of the year 2022 and all criminal prisoners from cultural figures.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>In the first half of 2022 <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">there were <strong>38<\/strong><\/span> court decisions concerning cultural figures:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">January 11: sound director\u00a0<strong>Kiryl Salieje\u016d <\/strong><a href=\"#k_16\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[16]<\/a> was sentenced to 3 years of \u2018chemistry\u2019;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">January 14: author of musical projects and typography director <strong>Arciom Fiedasienka<\/strong> was sentenced to 4 years in a colony;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">January 28: history re-enactor and activist <strong>Kim Samusienka<\/strong> was sentenced to 4.5 years in a colony;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">February 4: cultural project manager, businessman, and author included in a fairytale collection <strong>Aliaksandr Vasilievi\u010d<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"#k_17\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[17]<\/a> was sentenced to 3 years in a colony; scene designer\u00a0<strong>Andrej \u0160\u010dyhie\u013a <\/strong><a href=\"#k_18\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[18]<\/a> was sentenced to 2.5 years of \u2018chemistry\u2019;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">February 7: cellist <strong>I\u013alia Han\u010daryk<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"#k_19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[19]<\/a> was sentenced to 4 years of \u2018chemistry\u2019; comedian and KVN participant <strong>Vasi\u013a Kra\u016d\u010duk<\/strong> was sentenced to 2 years of \u2018home chemistry\u2019 <a href=\"#k_20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[20]<\/a>;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">February 9: artist and interior desiger <strong>Kanstancin Prusa\u016d<\/strong> was sentenced to 3.5 years in a colony;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">March 2: history teacher <strong>Artur E\u0161baje\u016d<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"#k_21\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[21]<\/a> was sentenced to 3 years of \u2018chemistry\u2019;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">March 3: non-fiction writer and journalist <strong>Alieh Hru\u017adzilovi\u010d<\/strong> was sentenced to 1.5 years in a colony;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">March 15: literary figure, musician and author in the journal \u00ab\u041d\u0430\u0448\u0430 \u0433\u0456\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0440\u044b\u044f\u00bb <strong>Andrej Skurko<\/strong> was sentenced to 2.5 years in a colony;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">March 15: street artist and IT specialist <strong>D\u017amitryj Padrez <\/strong>was sentenced to 7 years of enhanced regime colony;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">March 16: non-fiction author and blogger <strong>Paviel Vinahrada\u016d<\/strong> was sentenced to 5 years in a colony;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">March 23: sound operator <strong>Vadzim Dzienisienka<\/strong> was sentenced to 2.5 years in a colony;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">March 25: Lyubitelskiy theater actor <strong>Kanstancin \u0160u\u013aha<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"#k_22\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[22]<\/a> was sentenced to 3 years of \u2018chemistry\u2019;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">March 28: director <strong>D\u017amitryj Pancialiejka<\/strong> was sentenced to 1 year in a colony;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">March 30: artist <strong>Alie\u015b Pu\u0161kin<\/strong> was sentenced to 5 years of enhanced regime colony; poet, blogger and producer <strong>Uladzisla\u016d Savin<\/strong> was sentenced to 8 years of enhanced regime colony;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">April 7: author and Wikipedia-editor <strong>Paviel Piernika\u016d<\/strong> was sentenced to 2 years in a colony;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">April 14: bass guitarist <strong>Viktar Kato\u016dski<\/strong> was sentenced to 3 years in a colony;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">April 18: former museum director <strong>Juryj Zialievi\u010d<\/strong> was sentenced to 1.5 years of \u2018home chemistry\u2019;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">April 22: musician <strong>Vasi\u013a Jarmolienka<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"#k_23\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[23]<\/a> was sentenced to 3 years of \u2018chemistry\u2019;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">May 5: graphic designer <strong>Halina Siemie\u010dka<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"#k_24\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[24]<\/a> was sentenced to 3 years of \u2018home chemistry\u2019;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">May 6: theatre actress <strong>Viera \u0106vikievi\u010d<\/strong> was sentenced to 1 year in a colony; former Russian language and literature teacher <strong>Anastasija Kucharava<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"#k_25\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[25]<\/a> was sentenced to 3 years of \u2018home chemistry\u2019;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">May 20: jeweler and history reenactor <strong>Michail Laba\u0144<\/strong> was sentenced to 4 years in a colony;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">June 1: musical college student <strong>Ta\u0107ciana Barysovi\u010d<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"#k_26\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[26]<\/a> was sentenced to 3 years of \u2018chemistry\u2019;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">June 7: cultural project manager and sociologist <strong>Ta\u0107ciana Vadala\u017eskaja<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"#k_27\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[27]<\/a> was sentenced to 2.5 years of \u2018chemistry\u2019;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">June 8: poet, translator and journalist <strong>Andrej Ku\u017anie\u010dyk<\/strong> was sentenced to 6 years in an enhanced regime colony;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">June 10: former French teacher <strong>Iryna Ja\u016dmienienka<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"#k_28\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[28]<\/a> was sentenced to 3 years of \u2018chemistry\u2019;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">June 15: head editor of newspaper \u00abNovy \u010cas\u00bb <strong>Aksana Kolb<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"#k_29\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[29]<\/a> was sentenced to 2.5 years of \u2018chemistry\u2019;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">June 17: literary figure and activist <strong>Aliena Hna\u016dk<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"#k_30\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[30]<\/a> was sentenced to 3.5 years in a colony; librarian and excursion leader <strong>Iryna Kova\u013a<\/strong> was sentenced to 3 years of \u2018chemistry\u2019;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">June 21: comedian and art director <strong>Aliaksandr Talma\u010do\u016d<\/strong> was sentenced to 3 years of \u2018home chemistry\u2019;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">June 23: philosopher, publicist and methodologist <strong>Uladzimir Mackievi\u010d<\/strong> was sentenced to 5 years in an enhanced regime colony;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">June 24: author, Wikipedia-editor and IT-specialist <strong>Mark Biern\u0161tejn<\/strong> was sentenced to 3 years of \u2018chemistry\u2019;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">June 27: Literary figure <strong>Aliaksandr Novika\u016d<\/strong> was sentenced to 2 years in a colony;<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">June 29: musician and violin teacher <strong>Aksana Ka\u015bpiarovi\u010d<\/strong> was sentenced to 1 year, 2 months in a colony.<a href=\"applewebdata:\/\/502DD0AF-03C1-4BBA-BD13-5BB56AECB0F5#_ftnref10\" name=\"_ftn10\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"applewebdata:\/\/80382B40-DB21-4FC2-8C64-8AC230DC1DFD#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-11195 size-full\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/slajd4-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" \/ loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/slajd4-2.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/slajd4-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/slajd4-2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/slajd4-2-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Most frequently, cultural figures have been prosecuted under Article 342 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus for their participation in 2020\u2019s peaceful protest movement. 22 sentences out of total 38 in the first half of 2022 were such cases. 17 cultural figures were prosecuted for \u201cinsulting\u201d or \u201cslandering\u201d Luka\u0161enka and other government officials, \u201cdiscrediting Belarus,\u201d and sometimes even for expressing an opinion.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Along with 98 politically imprisoned cultural figures, another <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>21<\/strong><\/span> representatives of the cultural sector are imprisoned on criminal cases, a count which includes those serving sentences in the form of &#8220;home chemistry&#8221;: translator <strong>Vo\u013aha Kalackaja<\/strong>, poet and musician <strong>Hanna Va\u017enik<\/strong>, designer <strong>Ta\u0107ciana Minina<\/strong>, cameraman <strong>Via\u010dasla\u016d Lamanosa\u016d<\/strong>, culture manager <strong>Rehina Lavor<\/strong>, DJ <strong>Vita\u013a Kalie\u015bnika\u016d<\/strong>, comedian and KVN participant <strong>Vasi\u013a Kra\u016d\u010duk<\/strong>, history reenactor <strong>Vadzim \u0160y\u013ako<\/strong>, graphic designers <strong>Uladzimir Jar\u0161o\u016d<\/strong> and <strong>Siarhiej Stocki<\/strong>, Russian language and literature teacher <strong>Aliena Pucykovi\u010d<\/strong>, poet, producer and blogger <strong>Uladzisla\u016d Savin<\/strong>, photographer <strong>Valieryj Klimien\u010danka<\/strong>, former museum director <strong>Juryj Zialievi\u010d<\/strong>, musician <strong>Uladzisla\u016d Pliu\u0161\u010da\u016d<\/strong>, architect <strong>Aliaksiej Parecki<\/strong>, musician <strong>Vadzim Hulievi\u010d<\/strong>, art teacher <strong>Andrej Raptunovi\u010d <\/strong><a href=\"#k_31\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[31]<\/a>, writer <strong>Aliaksandr Novika\u016d <\/strong><a href=\"#k_32\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[32]<\/a>, DJ <strong>Ihar Faliej\u010dyk <\/strong><a href=\"#k_33\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[33]<\/a>, and folk art festival participant <strong>Aliaksiej Via\u010derni <\/strong><a href=\"#k_34\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[34]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-11194 size-full\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/slajd3-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" \/ loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/slajd3-3.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/slajd3-3-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/slajd3-3-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/slajd3-3-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff; font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>III. CONDITIONS OF DETENTION<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In January-June 2022, there were <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>66<\/strong><\/span> cases of violations of the conditions of detention of cultural figures in closed institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB.\u00a0 Since the first arrests in mid-2020, &#8220;special&#8221; detention rules have been in effect for cultural figures detained or convicted under political articles, and this negative &#8220;practice&#8221; has continued.\u00a0 Solitary confinement cells, pressures from the administration, unhygienic conditions, overcrowded cells, poor-quality medical care or refusal to provide it, deprivation of visits, telephone calls, and a complete or partial ban on correspondence are just some of the ways in which political prisoners are subjected to pressure.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As of June 1, &#8220;due to the stabilization of the epidemiological situation&#8221;, Minsk Detention center No. 1, Mahilio\u016d Prison No. 4, as well as penal colonies stopped collecting &#8220;vitamin packages&#8221; for prisoners \u2013 an extra package each prisoner could receive with a certain set of fruits and vegetables weighing up to 10 kg. It could previously be received once every 30 days. Inmates in the colony can purchase their own necessities in the prison store for a month for two basic units, which is currently 64 rubles (about 23 euros). As for working conditions in places of detention, human rights activists describe them as &#8220;slave-like&#8221;: the unequipped workplaces, high production standards, inability to choose the preferred type of work, the lack of an employment contract, and &#8220;penny&#8221; wages leave a lot to be desired. Thereby, the monthly salary of Maksim Znak in the penal colony in February &#8220;Vitsba&#8221; amounted to 56 kopeks (0.2 euro).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff; font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>IV.\u00a0&#8220;EXTREMISTS&#8221; AND &#8220;TERRORISTS&#8221; AMONG CULTURAL FIGURES. EXTREMIST FORMATIONS AND MATERIALS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">One relatively new and actively developing practice of suppressing dissent is the application of anti-extremist legislation against opponents of the regime. Human rights organizations (Viasna, Human constanta, BAJ, Sova) have noted a trend of extremely broad interpretations of anti-extremism legislation in Belarus since the start of the protests in August 2020. Currently, law enforcement practice is purposefully shaped in such a way that &#8220;extremism&#8221; in Belarus means participation in peaceful protests, condemnation of violence by making comments on a social network, making emotional remarks about a representative of the authorities, etc.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus maintains 3 lists <a href=\"#k_35\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[35]<\/a>: &#8220;List of citizens of the Republic of Belarus, foreign persons or stateless persons involved in an extremist activity,&#8221; &#8220;List of organizations, legal entities, individual entrepreneurs involved in an extremist activity&#8221; (recognized as such without a court decision) and &#8220;Republican List of Extremist Materials&#8221; (recognized as such by a court decision). Since 2021 all of them are being filled with new names of individuals and organizations with the intention of creating the atmosphere of fear and silence.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thus, as of July 1, 2022, the list of <strong><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">persons<\/span><\/strong> &#8220;involved in extremist activity&#8221; consists of 426 names, including at least 19 <a href=\"#k_36\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[36]<\/a> cultural figures: <strong>Maksim Znak, Maryja Kalie\u015bnikava, Paviel Sieviaryniec, Artur Amira\u016d, Mikalaj Dziadok, Eduard Pa\u013a\u010dys, Julija Laptanovi\u010d, Alie\u015b Pu\u0161kin, Arciom Fiedasienka <\/strong>(twice on the list)<strong>, Andrej \u0160\u010dyhie\u013a, Vasi\u013a Kra\u016d\u010duk, Maksim \u0160a\u016dlinski <\/strong>(pardoned back on September 16, 2021)<strong>, Siarhiej Spary\u0161, \u0179micier Padrez, Mia Mitkievi\u010d, Paviel \u015apiryn, Ihar Alinievi\u010d, Uladzisla\u016d Makaviecki and Paviel Piernika\u016d.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">71 subjects compile The &#8220;List of organizations, <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>formations<\/strong><\/span>, individual entrepreneurs involved in extremist activities.&#8221; In the first half of 2022, the list includes the Belarusian Council of Culture, an organization that supports Belarusian culture; the Nasha Niva publication (website and social networks, messengers), which has a &#8220;Culture&#8221; section on its website; the Homel publication Flagshtok (website and Telegram), which covers culture and preservation of historical heritage, etc.; Telegram channels about Belarusian history and culture Historyja and R E Z Y S T A N S.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Republican list of &#8220;extremist <strong><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">materials<\/span><\/strong>&#8221; contains more than a thousand items. It includes symbols, articles, videos, Telegram and Viber groups, chat rooms and channels, etc. Of those listed for the first half of 2022 alone, we can distinguish 18 items that are related to the sphere of culture or cultural figures (although there would be many more upon closer inspection). In particular, these are media outlets with cultural content: Radio Racyja, Regiyanalnaia Gazeta, Viciebsk Kurier news, media-polesye.by, nadniemnemgrodno.pl, MOST; the YouTube channels Zhizn-malina and Ms. Anne Nittelnacht (a project for Jewish culture research) 4 books by Belarusian authors: Viktar Liachar, The Military History of Belarus. Heroes. Symbols. Colors,&#8221; &#8220;Belarus at the Crossroads. Collection of articles&#8221;, A\u013ahierd Bacharevi\u010d &#8220;The Dogs of Europe&#8221; \u0179micier Luka\u0161uk, Maksim Haruno\u016d &#8220;Belarusian National Idea&#8221;, and other materials.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8220;List of Organizations and Individuals Involved in <strong>Terrorist Activities<\/strong>\u201d <a href=\"#k_37\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[37]<\/a> is maintained the Committee for State Security (KGB).\u00a0 Since the fall of 2020, the list has been actively updated with the names of Belarusian citizens and public figures, including cultural figures. Consequently, in the first half of 2022, the list includes <strong>Siarhiej Spary\u0161, Maksim Znak, Maryja Kalie\u015bnikava, Danuta Pieradnia, Aksana Ka\u015bpiarovi\u010d, Aliaksiej Parecki, Ivan Viarbicki, Julija \u010camlaj, Paviel Vinahrada\u016dand Siarhiej Cichano\u016dski.<\/strong> Ihar Alinievi\u010d, Uladzimir Hundar, Paviel Latu\u0161ka, Anton Mato\u013aka and Vadzim Hilievi\u010d were included until 2022. This adds up to at least 15 <a href=\"#k_38\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[38]<\/a> people related to the cultural sphere.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #3366ff; font-size: 14pt;\">V.\u00a0PERSECUTION FOR AN ANTI-WAR STANCE <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine. Belarusian authorities supported the actions of the Russian Federation by providing its territory for the deployment of military equipment and contingent. Citizens of Belarus, in turn, have opposed the war and displayed an anti-war stance since the first days of the invasion of Ukraine. Persecution for anti-war statements was most acute in the first months after the outbreak of the war, but detentions are still occurring today. According to the Human Rights Center &#8220;Viasna&#8221;, on February 27-28, the main day of the referendum on constitutional amendments in Belarus, and the following day, over 1,000 people were detained for saying &#8220;no to war&#8221; in various cities of the country.\u00a0 Among them were people from the cultural sphere. During the first half of 2022, Belarusian cultural figures who spoke out against the Russian armed invasion were tried for participation in anti-war actions, use of official Ukrainian symbols (having anything with yellow and blue colors), inscriptions in support of Ukraine, materials about the war, anti-war letters sent to state authorities, publications and statements in social networks, etc. One of the most high-profile cases was the 6.5-year imprisonment of Danuta Pieradnia, a student of Romance and Germanic Philology at Kuleshov Moscow State University [expelled], who reposted an anti-war text critical of the actions of Putin and Luka\u0161enka and called to speak out against the war in Ukraine. Danuta Pieradnia is one of the cultural people who were put on the list of &#8220;persons involved in terrorist activities.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff; font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>VI. PERSECUTION OF THOSE WHO HAVE GONE ABROAD<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The tendency to persecute cultural figures disloyal to the authorities, who were forced to leave Belarus but continue to publicly express their opinion about the situation in the country, is gaining momentum. Criminal cases are initiated against them, and their relatives are put under pressure. On May 12, 2022, actions were taken to introduce amendments to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus <a href=\"#k_39\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[39]<\/a>, which would make it possible to prosecute citizens who are outside the Republic of Belarus.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">To this day, at least 7 criminal cases have already been initiated against the former director of the Kupala Theater, Paviel Latu\u0161ka. The last one was initiated in February of this year, and it concerns Latu\u0161ka&#8217;s financial activities as Minister of Culture of Belarus in 2012. The pressure was also exerted on him through his daughter, who, according to employees of the Department of Financial Investigations, was also the subject of a criminal investigation and his apartment has been seized as well. In February the Ministry of Internal Affairs put the creators of the satirical duet &#8220;Red Green&#8221; \u2013 songwriter and blogger Andrej Pavuk, and opera singer Marharyta Lia\u016d\u010duk on the wanted list, against whom a criminal case had opened earlier for &#8220;desecration of the state flag&#8221; \u2013 based on one of the duet&#8217;s videos. The KGB wanted comedian Slava Kamisarenka, who had been living in Russia for a long time, for the &#8220;Defamation against the President of the Republic of Belarus&#8221;. Representatives of law enforcement agencies were looking for him in Moscow, calling and texting him, earlier they had shown interest in the parents of the artist who were in Belarus. Ihar Ka\u017amier\u010dak, journalist and owner of the store of national symbols Cudo\u016dnaja krama at one point has found out that he &#8220;had been hiding from the investigation&#8221; and was put on the wanted list as well. An unknown person texted Kanstancin \u0160yta\u013a on Telegram and invited him to return to Belarus and come to the regional KGB.\u00a0 It is known for a fact that law enforcement officers searched the domicile, former place of residence or investigated of parents of Andrej Pavuk, Marharyta Lia\u016d\u010duk, the owner of the store of national symbols &#8220;Admetnasc&#8221;, historian Vo\u013aha Vieramiejenka, and documentary filmmaker Maryja Bulavinskaja; furthermore, they ransacked the apartment of mother of civil activist and photographer Anton Motolko. Not only that, Marharyta Lia\u016d\u010duk&#8217;s parents were detained and tried &#8220;for disobedience to the police&#8221;, fined 2,240 rubles (about 830 euro) each, and urged to record a video message to their daughter so that she would &#8220;stop engaging in politics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff; font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>VII. LIQUIDATION OF NON-COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS IN THE CULTURAL SPHERE<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the monitoring of the liquidation of Belarusian non-profit organizations [NPOs] <a href=\"#k_40\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[40]<\/a> conducted by Lawtrend together with the OEEC, as of early July 2022, the list contains more than 500 organizations subjected to forced liquidation since 2021.\u00a0 Of these, since the beginning of 2022, more than 170 NPOs in Belarus have been liquidated, most of which are Minsk-based organizations.\u00a0 At least 32 organizations from this list were directly related to the activities in the sphere of culture. The oldest NPOs [founded in the mid-1990s], such as Polish Cultural Society in Lid\u010dyna, Club of Polish Folk Traditions, and Public Association of Former Young Prisoners of Nazi Concentration Camps in Hrodna region; Jewish Cultural Center of Polack and Viciebsk Musical Society in Viciebsk region; Belarusian Association of Architectural Students, Jewish Educational Initiative, and Polish Scientific Society in Minsk region.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As a result of the unfavorable socio-political situation in the country or pressure from the authorities, the list of NPOs that have decided to spontaneously dissolve is expanding. As of early July, Lawtrend <a href=\"#k_41\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[41]<\/a> monitored 336 organizations. 99 of them filed petitions for self-dissolution during the first half of 2022. 40% of the self-dissolved NPOs (40 organizations) were from the Brest region. Most of the organizations were focused on sports and at least 20 &#8211; on culture. For instance, the self-liquidation list includes the charity foundation Fortification of Brest, which dealt with the topic of preservation of historical and cultural heritage of the city; Brest cultural and historical public association named after Tadevush Kastsiushka, as well as the Ukrainian Scientific-Pedagogical Union Bereginya, whose leader Viktar Misijuk was detained on March 8 by law enforcement for laying flowers to the monument to Taras Shevchenko on the birthsday of the poet, and in April was a subject to searches.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Furthermore, on January 22, 2022, a new law came into force, according to which there is a responsibility for organizing a public activity or participation in the activity under a patronage of a public association that had been forcefully liquidated <a href=\"#k_42\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[42]<\/a>. Now anyone involved in such events can be fined, arrested for up to three months, or even imprisoned for up to two years.<\/p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff; font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>VIII.\u00a0CULTURAL LIFE IN BELARUS: WASHING OUT THE SPHERE AND THE \u201ePURIFYING CULTURAL VISITS\u201d <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>LITERATURE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As early as the first quarter of 2021 a tendency of pressurization and reprisals against the independent book sector of Belarus began to form: Publishers and their founders, book distributors, and authors. Such forms of pressure as seizure of books during customs clearance, suspension of bank accounts, searches and property confiscation, interrogations, publication of discrediting and defamatory stories and articles in the state media, removal of books of certain authors and publishers from the shelves of libraries and state bookstores, etc. were exerted on them. Repressions against &#8220;the Belarusian book&#8221; continue for the second year and intensify in the current timeframe.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the end of March, &#8220;due to an urgent need,&#8221; the landlord demanded that the publishing house Janu\u0161kievi\u010d vacate the office within three days \u2013 and immediately began looking for a new tenant: the owner published an announcement on a rental website that the office space is available.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Ministry of Information suspended for three months the activity of <strong>four independent publishing houses<\/strong> that had been printing books written in Belarusian and by Belarusian authors: Medisont and Goliaths (since April 15), Limarius and Knigosbor (since May 16) for trumped-up reasons.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">From April 18 to May 17, 2022, four books by Belarusian authors were recognized as <strong>extremist material<\/strong> (see Section IV).\u00a0 Distribution of these books is now criminally punishable.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On May 16, at the opening of a new bookstore named <strong>Kniha\u016dka<\/strong> (owner \u2013 publishing house Janu\u0161kievi\u010d) representatives of the state media came and &#8220;have criticized&#8221; the range of available books, their content, authors, publishers and employees of the bookstore. The same day the store was searched, 200 books were confiscated, 15 of which were sent for &#8216;an examination&#8217; to determine whether they had signs of extremism, whereas Andrej Janu\u0161kievi\u010d, the founder of the publishing house, and the literature reviewer Nasta Karnackaja, an employee of the store, were arrested and spent 28 and 23 days in jail respectively, on trumped-up administrative charges. [Symbolically, a month later, on June 15, a pro-governmental store called Book Club of Writers was ceremoniously opened <a href=\"#k_43\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[43]<\/a>.]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The practice of discrediting writers disloyal to the authorities (as well as historians, artists, filmmakers, public organizations, etc.) has &#8220;proven itself&#8221; at the state level and is a full-scale &#8220;campaign&#8221; in the state media. Over time, state propagandists &#8220;went into the field&#8221; (as in the case of the Kniha\u016dka store, for example, or the Art-Minsk painting exhibition): in the course of their &#8220;purifying cultural visits&#8221; they completely distort the truth and slander certain [disloyal to the regime] authors and their works, which is then followed by administrative penalties and a ban on the distribution of the literature. At some point the propagandists were joined by pro-government bloggers-activists who would roam around the city and visit numerous exhibitions and bookstores in search of ideologically &#8220;harmful&#8221; materials.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">For example, after an appeal by an activist, the OZ Books stores located in Trinity and Nioman shopping centers had to move \u201cSummer in a Pioneer Tie\u201d and other books touching on the LGBT topics to the storage rooms and the managements of the bookstore and the Trinity shopping center were invited for a \u201cpreventive conversation of a proactive nature\u201d. Later, in Hrodna the Green store had to take off sale the following books: \u201cMyths about Belarus&#8221; by Vadzim Dzieru\u017eynski and &#8220;Welcome to Belarus&#8221; by Alie\u015b Huto\u016dskahi. They were released by the same publishing house as the books written by Viktar Liachar of which one is considered extremist.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>VISUAL ARTS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pro-government activists Aliena Sidarovi\u010d in Minsk and Vo\u013aha Bondarava in Hrodna control both the cultural landscape of the book market and art exhibitions. The letters they send to the departments of culture of the Minsk and Hrodna City Executive Committees result in taking down works of both recognized and young authors.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">After the claim about the alleged distribution of pornography at the exhibition <strong>&#8220;Troubling Suitcase&#8221;<\/strong> (&#8220;\u0422\u0440\u0435\u0432\u043e\u0436\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u0447\u0435\u043c\u043e\u0434\u0430\u043d\u0447\u0438\u043a&#8221;) held from 10.12.2021 to 10.02.2022 in the gallery of the Union of Designers, the culturological examination of the art-object &#8220;Till death do us part&#8221; (\u201c\u041f\u043e\u043a\u0430 \u0441\u043c\u0435\u0440\u0442\u044c \u043d\u0435 \u0440\u0430\u0437\u043b\u0443\u0447\u0438\u0442 \u043d\u0430\u0441\u201d) by the artist Hanna Silivon\u010dyk was appointed. As a result, proceedings began not only against the exhibition itself, but also against the public association as a whole.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In March the personal exhibitions of Hryhoriy Ivanau <strong>&#8220;The Time of Screens&#8221;<\/strong> (&#8220;\u0427\u0430\u0441 \u044d\u043a\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0430\u045e&#8221;) and Siarhei Hrynevich <strong>&#8220;Demography&#8221;<\/strong> (&#8220;\u0414\u044d\u043c\u0430\u0433\u0440\u0430\u0444\u0456\u044f&#8221;) in Palace of Arts in Minsk were closed before the schedule.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On April 29, the sculpture exhibition <strong>&#8220;SCULPTURE&#8221;<\/strong> was held for 4 hours in the gallery &#8220;400 squares&#8221; in Hrodna. The Hrodnian ideologists proposed to remove some works as a condition for the further functioning of the exhibition, to which the project curator Ivan Arcimovi\u010d and gallery owners did not agree, considering it wrong to exclude the works of individual authors &#8220;for absolutely far-fetched reasons&#8221;. The Belarusian Union of Artists, the members of which are the participants of the group exhibition, tried to defend the project and was ready to create an expert commission of famous art historians and sculptors, which was not supported by the administration of Hrodna. Thus, the exhibition with the works of 17 sculptors was closed immediately after the opening.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On May 12, the annual <strong>\u201cArt-Minsk\u201d<\/strong> exhibition opened at the Palace of Arts, announcing an exhibition of 550 works by 240 contemporary Belarusian authors. However, dozens of artists (according to unconfirmed information, this amounts to &#8220;over 40&#8221;) could not take part in it, and some had to withdraw their original works: a so-called &#8220;black list&#8221; was issued &#8220;from above,&#8221; while the content and quality of the works on display did not play any role at all. The PEN monitoring contains information about 19 authors who were censored in one way or another because of their &#8220;unreliability&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On June 28, Irina Malukalova was one of the three participants involved in the art project that had taken place in Factory space in Minsk which she later described as &#8220;the fastest exhibition of my life.\u201d The exhibit about criticism of creative work <strong>&#8220;This is a diagnosis&#8221;<\/strong> (&#8220;\u042d\u0442\u043e \u0434\u0438\u0430\u0433\u043d\u043e\u0437&#8221;) had lasted for several hours and then was promptly taken down. The reasons for such a rapid removal remain unknown.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>ART-SQUARES AND FESTIVALS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">After the events of 2020, the cultural sphere is largely paralyzed: many musicians, theater artists, promoters, DJs and other people of creative professions have left the country (unfortunately, there are no real statistics on the number of people who have emigrated). Many of interdisciplinary cultural venues have closed. During the first half of 2022 the decision about discontinuation of work has been announced by the cultural center Korpus (June) and Lo-Fi Social Club (March),<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is known that in the first six months of 2022 Minsk cultural center Korpus (June) and Lo-Fi Social Club (March) ceased their work and event space Miesca was forced to close (April). Since mid-May activities of Minsk music club Bruges have been suspended, the doors of which were sealed after one of the complex inspections of the building&#8217;s owner.\u00a0 The playbill of the theater The Territory of Musical, which at the beginning of the year twice failed to show the performance &#8220;Figaro&#8221; for reasons beyond the control of the theater, is not updated. In May, after the notorious incident with the closure of the exhibition of modern sculpture, the shopping center Trinity did not prolong the lease agreement.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This year there are significantly fewer traditional summer festivals and cultural events announced, which had been organized by private initiatives. Inter alia, Ukrainian and foreign artists refuse to tour in Belarus because of the war in Ukraine. Also, many Belarusian musicians have left their country or have no chance of getting a touring certificate for a concert. <em>&#8220;Those things that worked like clockwork in 2019 (permits were issued, concerts were held, everything was moving), after 2020 by the confluence of all circumstances it turned out to be completely different. Now there are no criteria and notions of what can and what cannot be done <\/em><a href=\"#k_44\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[44]<\/a><em>.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff; font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>IX.\u00a0GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE CULTURE SPHERE: DEBELARUSIZATION AND RUSSIFICATION<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The problem of the consistent displacement of everything that is nationally oriented in culture, education, everyday life, and other spheres of Belarus is perennial and complex. It would not be possible to cover the topic in this research, however, it is of paramount importance to identify and note what is happening in the domestic policy of Belarus as a practice of debelarusization and russification \u2013 using examples of the first half of 2022.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>DEBELARUSIZATION<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In detention facilities, Belarusian-speaking detainees and prisoners are ordered to <strong>&#8220;speak in a normal language&#8221;<\/strong> &#8211; Russian. According to historian and publicist Alie\u015b Biely, <em>&#8220;people with &#8216;non-Russian&#8217; cultural affinities are being systematically forced out of all educational and cultural institutions&#8221;<\/em>. An increasing number of inscriptions with names of streets and places of interest in Belarusian cities are being changed from Belarusian to Russian. Belarusian authors disloyal to the authorities are discredited by pro-government propagandists and activists.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">After some time, it became apparent that in November 2021 the publishing house <strong>&#8220;Belarusian Encyclopedia of Piatru\u015b Bro\u016dka&#8221;<\/strong>, founded in January 1967, <strong>ceased to exist<\/strong>. The formal reason is incorporation into the publishing house &#8220;Belarus&#8221;. In fact, it is liquidation of a specialized publishing house. The company website notes that this publishing house &#8220;specialized in the production of universal, regional and subject encyclopedias, all sorts of reference books and dictionaries, educational, children, and popular scientific literature. Furthermore, elite publications, unique photobooks, and anniversary editions were also issued there <a href=\"#k_45\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[45]<\/a>.\u00a0 Journalist and literary critic Siarhiej Dubaviec described the incident as an act of &#8220;denationalization&#8221; and the publishing house BelEN as &#8220;the intellectual center of the Belarusian identity&#8221; and &#8220;a powerful state institute&#8221;, which had been dying for a long time, and now it finally has happened.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Uladzimir Savickai, ex-managing director of the <strong>Belarusian Theatre for Young Audience<\/strong> had been dismissed in January of this year and replaced by actress Viera Paliakova, who is also wife of the minister of foreign affairs of Belarus. Paliakova announced that the theater would give up staging exclusively in Belarusian \u2013 which used to distinguish the playhouse as one of the few professional theaters with only Belarusian-language performances [only 6 theaters in Belarus out of a total of 29]. In June, the premiere of the play based on Vasi\u013a Byka\u016d&#8217;s story &#8220;The Alpine Ballad&#8221;, originally written in Belarusian, took place. Thus, <strong>there is one less Belarusian-language theater in the country.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On June 27, by Luka\u0161enka&#8217;s order, the former chairman of the pro-governmental Union of Writers of Belarus (2005-2022) <strong>Mikalaj<\/strong> <strong>\u010carhiniec<\/strong> was awarded the title of <strong>People&#8217;s Writer of Belarus <\/strong><a href=\"#k_46\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[46]<\/a>. After 27 years [the last time it was awarded was in 1995] and for the first time in its history, the award was given to a writer who had not written a single work in the Belarusian language, an author of detective stories and militarized literature; a person under whom the so-called &#8220;black lists&#8221; of writers appeared.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There are only four schools in Belarus teaching in the language of national minorities. The transfer of two Polish (Hrodna and Va\u016dkavysk) and two Lithuanian (Pieliask and Rymdziunsk) schools to Russian language starting next school year is further<strong> pressure on Polish and Lithuanian minorities<\/strong> and continuation of the russification. Such decision of the Belarusian authorities is exclusively discriminatory against the rights of national minorities.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>THE PROMOTION OF A \u201cRUSSIAN WORLD\u201d IDEOLOGY<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On February 19, a gala concert dedicated to<strong> &#8220;national unity&#8221;<\/strong> was held in Minsk. On Sunday, June 11, there was another concert in Minsk, but this time in celebration of Russia Day [a state holiday celebrated in Russia on June 12 since 1992], which was sponsored by Russian state corporations. Events dedicated to this date were also held in other cities. At the Night of Museums in the National History Museum the program included the performance of Cossack songs and at the meetings with a Russian actor Minister of Culture Anato\u013a Markievi\u010d discusses the idea of cooperation between <strong>&#8220;two brotherly nations&#8221;<\/strong> in the sphere of culture <a href=\"#k_47\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[47]<\/a>. Russian flags are increasingly seen on the streets of Belarusian cities, at official institutions of the country and during public holidays. For instance, they were hoisted in flagpoles along a part of Victors Avenue in Minsk just before the Day of Unity of the nations of Belarus and Russia (in previous years they were not put up there), raised on the station building in Or\u0161a, were marked in Homiel and a number of other places. In Hrodna, the monument to Chapayev [a Russian historical character], dismantled in April 2019, &#8220;returned&#8221;; now it will be next to a military unit<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The <strong>&#8220;Russian House&#8221;<\/strong> representative office of &#8220;Rossotrudnichestvo&#8221; actively operates in the territory of Belarus. The organization supports programs for kindergartens, schools and universities, actively collaborates (as can be seen from announcements of events in social networks) with schoolchildren, applicants and students, often acts as a partner of educational, cultural and entertainment events, holds exhibitions, cinema clubs, master classes, tournaments and conferences.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">For example, the &#8220;Russian House&#8221; participated in the opening of an art exhibition marking the 75th anniversary of the Hlieba\u016d Art College in Minsk. On June 2, the Center for Russian Language, History and Culture has opened in Polack with assistance of the &#8220;Russian House&#8221;. The goal of the center is to popularize Russian language, culture and traditions <a href=\"#k_48\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[48]<\/a>. On the page of the representation office it is mentioned that such centers already operate at the Belarusian State Univeristy (Minsk), the Belarusian-Russian Univeristy (Mahilio\u016d) and other Belarusian higher educational establishments. One of the implemented programs &#8211; &#8220;Hello, Russia!&#8221; <a href=\"#k_49\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[49]<\/a> \u2013 &#8220;cultural and educational trips for young compatriots to historical places of the Russian Federation,&#8221; according to the website..<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On June 23, a <strong>joint Russian-Belarusian group<\/strong> was created to investigate criminal cases of genocide <a href=\"#k_50\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[50]<\/a> &#8211; the Prosecutor-General of Belarus Andrej \u0160vied and Chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee Aliaksandr Bastrykin signed a resolution to collectively investigate &#8220;the circumstances surrounding the atrocities of the fascists.&#8221; At an Independence Day event in Belarus, Luka\u0161enka officially expressed support for Russia in the context of military action against Ukraine <a href=\"#k_51\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[51]<\/a>, and Slavianski Bazar, the main state music festival to be held in July, invited artists who either spoke out in favor of the war or who did not speak out publicly against it.<\/p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff; font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>X.\u00a0GOVERNMENTAL AND POLITICAL TRENDS IN THE CULTURAL SPHERE<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Suppression of all forms of dissent.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>The severely expanded interpretation of extremism <\/strong>as a method of suppressing the freedoms of speech, assembly, and association. The purposeful formation of law enforcement practices with unclear criteria and the criminalization of public and civic engagement.. The practice is formed &#8220;behind closed doors&#8221; &#8211; in closed court hearings, which does not give the public any clear understanding of what actions and under what circumstances are considered crimes. This creates grounds for investigators, prosecutions, and courts to expand the interpretation of the law in the future.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Monopolization of cultural activities by the government<\/strong>. Thus, according to the decree of June 22, 2022, a register of the organizers of cultural and entertainment events is being formed in Belarus. The Ministry of Culture or a legal entity authorized by it will consider the documents for inclusion in the database and maintain the register. Organizers, eligible for inclusion, but not included in this list, will not be able to carry out cultural and entertainment events <a href=\"#k_52\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\">[52]<\/a>. In practice, this means that only state or regime-loyal organizers will be allowed to hold events. The decree came into force on August 1, 2022.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Debelarusization of Belarus through the means of Russification <\/strong>and promotion of the concept of the &#8220;Russian world&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>The Sovietization and militarization of routine.<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">The reduction of &#8220;cultural diversity&#8221; to the &#8220;cooperation of two fraternal nations&#8221; [Belarusians and Russians] <strong>and the suppression of the culture of Polish and Lithuanian national minorities. <\/strong><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">The systematic <strong>implementation of the program within the framework of the Year of Historical Memory (2022), <\/strong>the purpose of which is to &#8220;develop the objective perception of the historical past of the Belarusian society&#8230;&#8221; One of the egregious events that took place last month \u2013 the destruction of the graves of The Home Army soldiers in Hrodna region \u2013 is a continuation of the erasure of historical memory about the underground military organization from The Second World War that opposed the German occupation. The question of historical memory and what is happening in this area requires additional attention and investigation.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Making foreign policy decisions that contribute to the cancel culture phenomenon \u2013 cases of boycotts of Belarusian cultural products and their authors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">[<a id=\"k_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>1]\u00a0The procedure for recognition as a political prisoner is established by a certain framework agreement.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">[<a id=\"k_2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>2] On July 7, Vladislav Makovetsky had served his sentence in full and was released.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">[<a id=\"k_3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>3]\u00a0On June 28, the court decided to transfer Mikalaj Dziadok to a maximum-security prison.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">[<a id=\"k_4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>4] This is a common name for one of the types of punishment under criminal articles \u2013 restriction of freedom with placement in an open-type correctional facility.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">[<a id=\"k_5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>5] On July 8, it became known that Sergei Tikhanovsky had been transferred to the penal colony.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">[<a id=\"k_6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>6]\u00a0On July 18, Julija \u010camlaj was sentenced to 2 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">[<a id=\"k_7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>7] On 8 July, Aksana Ka\u015bpiarovi\u010d had served her sentence in full and was released.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">[<a id=\"k_8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>8]\u00a0On July 18, Julija Laptanovi\u010d was sentenced to 5 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">[<a id=\"k_9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>9] On July 15, Anastasia Malashuk was sentenced to 3 years of &#8220;house chemistry&#8221; and released in the courtroom.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">[<a id=\"k_10\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>10] On July 1, Danuta Perednya was sentenced to 6.5 years in a penal colony.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">[<a id=\"k_11\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>11] On July 14, Igor Golushko was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">[<a id=\"k_12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>12] On July 19, Alexander Kazakevich was sentenced to 1.5 years of &#8220;house chemistry&#8221; and released in the courtroom.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">[<a id=\"k_13\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>13] On July 14 Zmitser Dashkevich was sentenced to 1.5 years in colony.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">[<a id=\"k_14\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>14]\u00a0On July 13, Kaciaryna Andrejeva was sentenced to 8 years and 3 months in prison (including the period of the previous sentence).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">[<a id=\"k_15\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>15]\u00a0In April 2022, Mikalaj Papieka&#8217;s sentence changed from &#8220;chemistry&#8221; to the imprisonment the colony. During the time of publication of the material it became known that he had been serving the sentence in the colony since June.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">[<a id=\"k_16\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>16] Kiryl Salee\u016d left the country for security reasons.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">[<a id=\"k_17\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>17] Aliaksandr Vasilievi\u010d had served his sentence in full and was released.<\/p>\n<p>[<a id=\"k_18\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>18] Andrej \u0160\u010dyhie\u013a is free pending an appeal.<\/p>\n<p>[<a id=\"k_19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>19] I\u013alia Han\u010daryk has been serving &#8220;chemistry&#8221; since April 25.<\/p>\n<p>[<a id=\"k_20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>20] This is the colloquial name for one of the types of punishment under criminal articles \u2013 restriction of freedom without sending to an open-type correctional institution.<\/p>\n<p>[<a id=\"k_21\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>21] Artur E\u0161baje\u016d left the country for security reasons.<\/p>\n<p>[<a id=\"k_22\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>22] Kanstancin \u0160u\u013aha left the country for security reasons.<\/p>\n<p>[<a id=\"k_23\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>23] Vasi\u013a Jarmolienka is free pending the start of his sentence.<\/p>\n<p>[<a id=\"k_24\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>24] Halina Siemie\u010dka left the country for security reasons.<\/p>\n<p>[<a id=\"k_25\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>25] Anastasija Kucharava left the country for security reasons.<\/p>\n<p>[<a id=\"k_26\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>26] Ta\u0107ciana Barysovi\u010d is free pending the start of her sentence.<\/p>\n<p>[<a id=\"k_27\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>27] Tatyana Vodolazhskaya is free pending the start of her sentence.<\/p>\n<p>[<a id=\"k_28\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>28] Iryna Ja\u016dmienienka is free pending the start of her sentence.<\/p>\n<p>[<a id=\"k_29\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>29] Aksana Kolb is free pending the start of her sentence.<\/p>\n<p>[<a id=\"k_30\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noindex noopener\"><\/a>30] In the case of Aliena Hna\u016dk, this is the third conviction since the beginning of the protests in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>[31] On July 8, Andrej Raptunovi\u010d was designated a political prisoner.<\/p>\n<p>[32] On July 6, Aliaksandr Novika\u016d was designated a political prisoner.<\/p>\n<p>[33] On July 7, Ihar Faliej\u010dyk was sentenced to 2 years in prison, and on July 12, he was designated a political prisoner.<\/p>\n<p>[34] On July 8, Aliaksiej Via\u010derni was sentenced to 1 year and 9 months in prison, and on July 12 he was designated a political prisoner.<\/p>\n<p>[35] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mvd.gov.by\/ru\/news\/8642\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">https:\/\/www.mvd.gov.by\/ru\/news\/8642<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[36] On July 8, Paviel Vinahrada\u016d and Viktar Kato\u016dski were also included in the list.<\/p>\n<p>[37] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kgb.by\/ru\/perechen-inf-ru\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">https:\/\/www.kgb.by\/ru\/perechen-inf-ru<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[38] Viktar Kato\u016dski is also included in the list from July.<\/p>\n<p>[39] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.belta.by\/society\/view\/deputaty-prinjali-v-pervom-chtenii-zakonoproekt-ob-izmenenii-upk-po-voprosam-spetsialnogo-proizvodstva-501232-2022\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Draft law on amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure of Belarus regarding specialized production was adopted at first reading<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>[40] <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1qHDjDaoq1Fz9TnVsbTIh-sFbWP_4U1faraytI8AuKXM\/edit%23gid=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Monitoring of NPOs that are in the process of forced liquidation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>[41] <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1YExGoYVjKMbx4fTnT-7VY8ScY1J6lKXLrWOjuPvS-Cg\/edit#gid=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">List of NPOs in respect of which a decision on self-liquidation has been made<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>[42] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawtrend.org\/freedom-of-association\/ugolovnaya-otvetstvennost-za-organizatsiyu-i-uchastie-v-nezaregistrirovannyh-organizatsiyah\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Criminal liability for organizing a public activity or participation in the activity under a patronage of an unregistered public association<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>[43] <a href=\"http:\/\/zviazda.by\/be\/news\/20220615\/1655298241-pa-vulicy-kisyalyova-4-u-minsku-pachala-pracu-nezvychaynaya-knigarnya.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">An peculiar bookstore Book Club of Writers was opened in Minsk<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>[44] <a href=\"\/2022\/07\/27\/bel-manitoryng-parushennyau-kulturnyh-pravou-i-pravou-chalaveka-u-dachynenni-da-dzeyachau-kultury-belarus-studzen-cherven-2022-goda.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Why taking artists to Belarus has become so difficult?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[45] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bel-en.by\/ru\/izdatelstvo-ru\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">The publishing house BelEn<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[47] <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/minkultrb\/9947\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">The meeting of the Minister of Culture Anato\u013a Markievi\u010d with the Soviet and Russian actor Mikalaj Burliaje\u016d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[48] <a href=\"http:\/\/ross-bel.ru\/meropriyatiya-po-linii-posolstva-ro\/news_post\/v-polocke-nachinaet-rabotu-centr-russkogo-yazyka-istorii-i-kultury\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">The Community Center of Russian Language, History and Culture was opened in Polotsk<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>[49] <a href=\"http:\/\/ross-bel.ru\/meropriyatiya-po-linii-posolstva-ro\/news_post\/zdravstvuj-rossiya-v-2022-godu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">&#8220;Hello, Russia!&#8221; in 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>[50] <a href=\"https:\/\/minsknews.by\/belarus-i-rossiya-budut-sovmestno-rassledovat-ugolovnye-dela-o-genoczide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Belarus and Russia will jointly investigate criminal cases of genocide<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>[51] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.belta.by\/president\/view\/vystuplenie-prezidenta-belarusi-na-tseremonii-vozlozhenija-venka-v-memorialnom-komplekse-kurgan-slavy-511555-2022\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Lukashenka&#8217;s speech at the wreath-laying ceremony at the &#8220;Kurhan Slavy&#8221; memorial complex<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>[52] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.belta.by\/society\/view\/reestr-organizatorov-kulturno-zrelischnyh-meroprijatij-formirujut-v-belarusi-509735-2022\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">The register of organizers of cultural and entertainment events is being formed in Belarus<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since October 2019, the Belarusian PEN Center has been carrying out a systematic collecting of information on violations of cultural and human rights which impact culture workers. This document includes statistics and an analysis of violations from the first half of 2022. \u00a0Material has been prepared on the basis of generally available information collected from<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":11198,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4255,1,4093],"tags":[4292,4256],"class_list":["post-10968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultural-right","category-news","category-creative-projects","tag-penanalytics","tag-kulturnyya-pravy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10968"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11400,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10968\/revisions\/11400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}