{"id":13790,"date":"2024-01-05T11:59:01","date_gmt":"2024-01-05T11:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/?p=13790"},"modified":"2024-01-24T20:13:50","modified_gmt":"2024-01-24T20:13:50","slug":"hronika-parushennyau-pravou-chalaveka-u-sfery-kultury-15-31-snezhnya-2023-goda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2024\/01\/05\/hronika-parushennyau-pravou-chalaveka-u-sfery-kultury-15-31-snezhnya-2023-goda.html","title":{"rendered":"Chronicle of human rights violations in the sphere of culture (15-31 December 2023)"},"content":{"rendered":"

As of 31 December 2023, at least 152 cultural figures, including not less than 32 People of the Word, were behind bars.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Singer Kaciaryna Cevan<\/b> was sentenced to two years of home confinement. She was held in the pre-trial detention centre No 1 for six months before the trial.<\/p>\n

Poet and bard Siarhiej \u010carniak<\/b> was sentenced to 15 days.<\/p>\n

Blogger Ale\u015b<\/b> Sabale\u016dski<\/b><\/span> did not walk out free after ten days of arrest.<\/p>\n

Master of ceremonies Siarhiej Tumana<\/b>\u016d <\/b>was detained.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The director of the Brasla\u016d<\/span> Museum of Traditional Culture, Eleanora Zinkievi\u010d<\/b>, was sentenced to 15 days; her husband was also arrested for 15 days. Museum worker Liudmila Rulevi\u010d<\/b> and her husband received 15 days of arrest.<\/p>\n

Artist Hienad\u017a Drazdo\u016d’s<\/b><\/span> health deteriorated in prison. Human rights defenders recognized him as a political prisoner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The authorities threaten to confiscate the Minsk apartment of Nobel Prize laureate Sviatlana Aleksijevi\u010d<\/b> (Svetlana Alexievich).<\/b><\/p>\n

The Vita<\/b> publishing house, which produced a book for the sexual education of children, is in the process of liquidation.<\/p>\n

The Dziejaslo<\/b><\/span>\u016d<\/b> literary magazine <\/b>will no longer be published in 2024.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

The \u0160ustry Vo\u017eyk<\/b> cultural space closed down.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I. Politically motivated criminal cases against cultural workers, authors and performers<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

On 27 December 2023, Minsk’s Zavodski District Court issued a verdict in the politically motivated criminal case against singer Kaciaryna Cevan<\/b>. She received two years of home confinement. Kaciaryna Cevan was detained on 10 October 2023 under Art. 342 of the Criminal Code (active participation in group actions that grossly violate public order). In August 2020, she sang Natallia Arse\u0144nieva’s hymn Mahutny Bo\u017ea<\/b> (Mighty God) on the steps of the Minsk Philharmonic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

II. Politically motivated administrative detentions and arrests of cultural workers, authors and performers<\/b><\/p>\n

1.<\/b> On 20 December, Lida District Court sentenced the poet and bard Siarhiej \u010carniak<\/b> to 15 days of administrative arrest. It was his second detention. Previously, he was detained with torture at his workplace at the beginning of December. Siarhiej was taken to court in handcuffs on the floor of a police van. When at court, he had a heart attack; the ambulance rushed him to the cardiology department.<\/p>\n

2.<\/b> On 24 December, blogger <\/span>Ale\u015b<\/b> Sabale\u016dski<\/b><\/span> was not released after serving ten days of administrative arrest in Mahilio<\/span>\u016d<\/span>.<\/b> Another administrative offence report was filed against him under Art. 19.11 of the Code of Administrative Offences (dissemination of extremist materials). This is how courts interpret subscriptions to independent news media. <\/span>Ale\u015b Sabale\u016dski<\/span> was again sentenced to administrative arrest. The initial detention occurred on the morning of 12 December at his workplace. <\/span>Ale\u015b Sabale\u016dski<\/span> is known for his blog covering cultural and social life in Mahilio<\/span>\u016d<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

3.<\/b> On 24 December, in Brasla<\/span>\u016d<\/b><\/span>, Viciebsk Region, the director of the local Museum of Traditional Culture, Eleanora Zinkievi\u010d<\/b>, was sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest; her husband was also arrested for 15 days. Museum worker Liudmila Rulevi\u010d<\/b> and her husband were sentenced to 15 days of arrest. During the search, police found books on the history of Belarus and a document with a seal depicting the ancient coat of arms “Pahonia” (Pursuit).<\/span><\/p>\n

4.<\/b> On 26 December, the master of ceremonies, Siarhiej Tumana<\/b><\/span>\u016d,<\/b><\/span> was detained in Minsk. He participated in the 2020 protests.<\/span><\/p>\n

III.\u00a0Trials and arrests for using Belarusian and Ukrainian national symbols<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

1. <\/b>On 15 December, Viciebsk’s Pier\u0161amajski District Court fined Aliaksandr Pavalocki<\/b> 3,700 BYN ($1,117) for a photo with a white-red-white flag on Instagram.<\/p>\n

2.<\/b> On 19 December, it became known that two employees of the Elema sewing factory in Minsk were detained in connection with white-red-white ribbons<\/b> at the workplace.<\/p>\n

3.<\/b> On 23 December, a software engineer was detained in Lida, Hrodna region. He had a Christmas tree decorated with balls with the inscription “Long live Belarus!”<\/b> Police commandos broke into the apartment, put the owner on his knees and threw him on the floor.<\/p>\n

4.<\/b> On 24 December, Dzmitry Fiedarovi\u010d<\/b> was detained at the border when entering Belarus. In his phone, security agents found photos with a white-red-white flag.<\/p>\n

IV. Conditions in places of detention, tortures of prisoners<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

In the Mahilio<\/span>\u016d<\/span> prison No. 4, political prisoner artist Hienad\u017a Drazdo<\/b><\/span>\u016d<\/b><\/span> was placed in the punishment cell many times. The prisoner’s health condition has worsened; he has very high blood pressure, and the administration does not give him proper medication. Hienad\u017a Drazdo<\/span>\u016d<\/span> is an artist, the head of the liquidated creative community Pahonia (Pursuit). He was detained and convicted in August 2022. He was charged under Part 1 of Art. 361.4 of the Criminal Code (facilitating extremist activities). On 4 May 2023, Hienad\u017a Drazdo<\/span>\u016d<\/span> was sentenced to three years in a minimum-security penal colony.<\/span><\/p>\n

V. Repression against People of the Word who fled Belarus<\/b><\/p>\n

On 20 December, it became known that the authorities threatened to confiscate the Minsk apartment of Nobel Prize laureate Sviatlana Aleksijevi\u010d (Svetlana Aleksievich)<\/b>. The writer says she managed to get the Nobel medal out of the apartment, but manuscripts and diaries remain there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

VI. <\/b><\/span>Repressions in the book sector<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

1. <\/b>On 22 December, it became known that the Vita<\/b> publishing house, which produced a book for the sexual education of children, was in the process of liquidation.<\/p>\n

2.<\/b> On 28 December, it became known that the literary magazine Dziejaslo<\/i><\/b><\/span>\u016d<\/i><\/b><\/span> would no longer be published in 2024. Founded in 2002, the magazine came out every two months and published the works of Belarusian and foreign authors. All in all, 127 issues were published.<\/span><\/p>\n

VII. Dismissal of artists from cultural institutions<\/b><\/p>\n

Artistic director Valery Anisienka <\/b>was fired from the Minsk Regional Drama Theater. Among his productions is Chernobyl Prayer, the play based on Svetlana Aleksievich’s book. It disappeared from the repertoire in 2021.<\/p>\n

VIII. Closure of cultural spaces<\/b><\/p>\n

On 23 December, the Belarusian-language children’s store and cultural space \u0160ustry Vo\u017eyk closed in Hrodna.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As of 31 December 2023, at least 152 cultural figures, including not less than 32 People of the Word, were behind bars. Singer Kaciaryna Cevan was sentenced to two years of home confinement. She was held in the pre-trial detention centre No 1 for six months before the trial. Poet and bard Siarhiej \u010carniak was<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":13791,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4255,1],"tags":[4291,4285],"class_list":["post-13790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultural-right","category-news","tag-chronicle","tag-hronika"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13790","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\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13790"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13790\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13801,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13790\/revisions\/13801"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}