{"id":16794,"date":"2024-09-17T08:43:49","date_gmt":"2024-09-17T08:43:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/?p=16794"},"modified":"2024-10-02T11:45:27","modified_gmt":"2024-10-02T11:45:27","slug":"hronika-parushennyau-pravou-chalaveka-u-sfery-kultury-1-15-verasnya-2024-goda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2024\/09\/17\/hronika-parushennyau-pravou-chalaveka-u-sfery-kultury-1-15-verasnya-2024-goda.html","title":{"rendered":"Chronicle of human rights violations in the sphere of culture (1-15 September 2024)"},"content":{"rendered":"

As of\u00a015\u00a0September\u00a02024, at least 163\u00a0cultural figures, including not less than 37\u00a0People of Word, were behind bars.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Historian Ihar Mielnika\u016d<\/strong>\u00a0was sentenced to four years in a minimum-security penal colony under Article 361.4 of the Criminal Code (facilitating extremist activity).<\/p>\n

A new criminal case was opened against political prisoner, journalist, and writer Mikola Dziadok<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Minsk City Court began the criminal trial of Ksienija Su\u0161a,<\/strong> who worked as the chief bibliographer of the National Library of Belarus\u2019s research department of bibliography.<\/p>\n

Poet Siarhiej Sys <\/strong>is treated as a suspect in the criminal case against the participants in two episodes of the Plan B <\/em><\/strong>show on Belsat TV.<\/p>\n

A court in Minsk began the trial of former political prisoner, singer Meryjem Hierasimienka, <\/strong>who has been outside Belarus since January 2024.<\/p>\n

The opening of Antanina Falej\u2019s<\/strong> jubilee exhibition, LITARA JA,<\/strong> was cancelled in Minsk.<\/p>\n

The Belaruskamo\u016dnyja<\/strong> (Belarusian-speaking people) chat on Telegram was labelled \u201cextremist.\u201d<\/p>\n

26 crosses, information signs, and pointers to graves were destroyed at the place of mass executions during Stalinism near the village of Hajsy<\/strong> near Viciebsk.<\/p>\n

\n
I.\u00a0Criminal prosecution of cultural figures, authors,\u00a0and performers<\/strong><\/h5>\n

1. <\/strong>On 2 September, the Minsk City Court began the criminal trial of Ksenija Su\u0161a<\/strong>, who worked as the chief bibliographer of the bibliographic research department of the National Library of Belarus until November 2021. Ksenija Su\u0161a was detained on 23 January 2024 for helping political prisoners and charged with facilitating extremist activities under Part 1 and Part 2 of Article 361.4 of the Criminal Code and with calling for sanctions under Part 3 of Article 361 of the Criminal Code.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> On 11 September, Minsk\u2019s Central District Court began the criminal trial of former political prisoner, singer Meryjem Hierasimienka<\/strong>, who has been outside Belarus since January 2024. On 19 January 2023, the same court sentenced her to three years of home confinement under Part 1 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code (active participation in actions that grossly violate public order). Meryjem Hierasimienka was detained on 4 August 2022 in Minsk after a concert at the Banki-Bytylki bar. Among the songs performed by the singer at the concert was Ukrainian band Okean Elzy\u2019s song Obijmy (Embrace). After the detention, the singer was twice sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest and then re-detained as part of the criminal case under Article 342 of the Criminal Code (active participation in group actions that grossly violate public order).<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> On 13 September, the Minsk City Court ruled to sentence historian Ihar Mielnika\u016d<\/strong>\u00a0to four years in a minimum-security penal colony under Article 361.4 of the Criminal Code (facilitating extremist activities). Ihar<\/strong>Mielnika\u016d <\/strong>is a historian, historical reconstructor, and author of books about the history of Western Belarus and people who lived near the Belarusian-Polish border. He graduated from the History Faculty of the Belarusian State Pedagogical University (2002) and Warsaw University (2005) and earned PhD in History in 2011. During the post-election crackdown in Belarus, he supported the government. He published\u00a0Collaborationism: The Anatomy of Treason<\/em>\u00a0(2023) and was preparing to publish\u00a0Proceed to Liquidation<\/em>, a book about the work of Soviet special services in post-war Belarus. Ihar Mielnika\u016b was detained on 21 January 2024 and charged with facilitating extremist activities under Article 361.4 of the Criminal Code. In 2024, Minsk\u2019s Central District Court designated as \u201cextremist\u201d three books by the historian\u00a0Ihar\u00a0Mielnika\u016b: Ni\u010dyparuk P.K., Mielnika\u016b I.B.\u00a0Odyssey\u00a0of a\u00a0Palessie Man<\/em>. Minsk: Alpha-book, 2017; Mielnika\u016b, I. B.\u00a0The\u00a0Forgotten\u00a0Corps:\u00a0The<\/em>\u00a0History of the Polish\u00a0Army on the\u00a0Territory of Babrujsk Region<\/em>\u00a0in 1918, 1919\u20131920<\/em>. Minsk: Alpha-book, 2018; Mielnika\u016b, I. B.\u00a0On the \u201cBorder of\u00a0Civilizations\u201d. Pages of history of the\u00a0Pre-War Soviet-Polish\u00a0Border\u00a0in Belarus<\/em>\u00a0Minsk: Alfa-kniga, 2020.<\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> On 13 September, it became known that a new criminal case was initiated against the political prisoner journalist and writer Mikola Dziadok<\/strong> in prison No. 1 under Article 411 of the Criminal Code (malicious disobedience to the requirements of the administration of a correctional institution). Mikola Dziadok is the author of the book Colours of the Parallel World,<\/em>published in 2017 in the Belarusian Prison Literature series, founded by the Viasna Human Rights Center. The book analyses the Belarusian correctional system and the methods used by the administration to break the will of prisoners. \u0421olours of the Parallel World<\/em> is based on the author’s experience during the first politically motivated prison term when Mikola Dziadok spent 4.5 years behind bars (2010-2015, the “case of anarchists”) and was recognized as a political prisoner. In 2017, Miko\u0142a Dziadok received the Franci\u0161ak Alachnovi\u010d Award, which was founded jointly by PEN Belarus and Radio Svaboda and given for the best work written in prison. He was arrested on 11 November 2020. On 10 November 2021, the Minsk City Court sentenced Miko\u0142a Dziadok to five years in prison. Judge Anastasia Papko found him guilty under three articles of the Criminal Code (342, 361, and 295-3). He has spent more than one year in solitary confinement.<\/p>\n

5. <\/strong>On 13 September, it became known that the Office of the Investigative Committee for the Homiel region initiated a criminal case against the participants of two episodes of the TV show “Plan: B”<\/strong> on Belsat TV dated 25 March and 1 April. The list of people treated as suspects under Part 2 of Article 361.4 of the Criminal Code (facilitating extremist activity) includes more than ten people, poet and journalist Siarhiej Sys<\/strong> among them.<\/p>\n

II. Administrative prosecution <\/strong><\/h5>\n

On 14 September, it became known that Dzianis Jaka\u016d<\/strong>le\u016d<\/strong>,<\/strong> the chief custodian of the Minaj \u0160myra\u016b museum’s funds and populariser of the history of World War II, was convicted in Viciebsk for subscribing to independent information outlets under Part 2 of Article 19.11 of the Code of Administrative Offences (dissemination of informational products included in the list of extremist materials).<\/p>\n

III. Conditions in the place of confinement <\/strong><\/h5>\n

For more than a year and a half, relatives of the musician, civil, and political activist Maryja Kalesnikava<\/strong> have yet to receive letters from her. The family received the latest letter on 15 February 2023. Parcels are forbidden, and a lawyer is not allowed to visit her. Because of a stomach ulcer, she cannot eat prison food. Her sister reports that Maria Kalesnikova, 175 centimetres tall, weighs only 45 kilograms.<\/p>\n

IV. Censorship <\/strong><\/h5>\n

1.<\/strong> The opening of Antanina Falej\u2019s<\/strong> jubilee exhibition, LITARA JA,<\/strong> at Minsk\u2019s Halereja Mastactva (Art Gallery) salon shop was cancelled. The exhibition, scheduled to run from August 29 to September 7, was to showcase the works created over the past seven years: collages, watercolour, and paintings. In 2020, the artist signed an open letter of cultural and artistic figures condemning violence against peaceful protesters.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> On 2 September, it became known that the Belaruskamo\u016dnyja<\/strong> (Belarusian-speaking people) chat on Telegram was labelled \u201cextremist,\u201d according to the updated list of “extremist” materials on the Ministry of Information\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

V<\/strong>. Violation of the right to education in the language of national minorities<\/strong><\/h5>\n

For three years, children of Polish origin have been deprived of the opportunity to learn Polish in public schools. In 2022, educational institutions with the Polish language of instruction in Hrodna and Va\u016bkavysk were transferred to the Russian language following the authorities’ decision. As a result of the anti-Polish campaign, privately owned institutions that offer Polish language courses are also subject to repression. During 2024, the authorities liquidated more than 10 educational institutions.<\/p>\n

VI. Destruction of memorial sites<\/strong><\/h5>\n

On 8 September, it became known about vandalism at the place of mass executions during the USSR near the village of Chajsy<\/strong> in the Viciebsk district. 26 crosses, pointers to graves, and signs with information about executions were destroyed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As of\u00a015\u00a0September\u00a02024, at least 163\u00a0cultural figures, including not less than 37\u00a0People of Word, were behind bars. Historian Ihar Mielnika\u016d\u00a0was sentenced to four years in a minimum-security penal colony under Article 361.4 of the Criminal Code (facilitating extremist activity). A new criminal case was opened against political prisoner, journalist, and writer Mikola Dziadok. Minsk City Court<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":16813,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4255],"tags":[4291,4285],"class_list":["post-16794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultural-right","tag-chronicle","tag-hronika"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16794","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\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16794"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16816,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16794\/revisions\/16816"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}