{"id":17520,"date":"2024-11-15T00:46:08","date_gmt":"2024-11-15T00:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/?p=17520"},"modified":"2026-02-16T20:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T20:38:10","slug":"take-action-for-kaciaryna-andrejeva-bachvalava-belarus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2024\/11\/15\/take-action-for-kaciaryna-andrejeva-bachvalava-belarus.html","title":{"rendered":"Take Action for Kaciaryna Andrejeva (Bachva\u0142ava) (Belarus)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Name: Kaciaryna Andrejeva (Bachva\u0142ava)<\/strong>
\nOccupation: Journalist, writer, poet<\/strong>
\nSituation: Imprisoned<\/strong>
\n#KaciarynaAndrejeva #ImprisonedWriter<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

And whenever I stray<\/em>
\nOn paths faraway<\/em>
\nWhere beasts left<\/em>
\nTracks in the snow<\/em>
\nI am scared no longer,<\/em>
\nAmused no longer \u2013<\/em>
\nNo more trouble<\/em>
\nNo more woe.<\/em>
\nThe songs around<\/em>
\nHave lost their sound<\/em>
\nAnd instead of songs:<\/em>
\nThe crunch of spines.<\/em>
\nIn my beloved country<\/em>
\nBefore spring comes finally,<\/em>
\nThrough my prison bars<\/em>
\nYou still shine.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kaciaryna Andrejeva, written from prison in 2021<\/em>
\nTranslated from Belarusian by Hanna Komar and John Farndon for #FreeAllWords<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Journalist, writer and poet, Kaciaryna Andrejeva (real name Bachva\u0142ava) is serving an eight-year prison sentence in Belarus on bogus charges of \u2018state treason\u2019. Andrejeva is currently being held in a medium-security penal colony in Homel, southeastern Belarus. Join us in calling for her immediate and unconditional release for the Day of the Imprisoned Writer.<\/p>\n

How you can help:<\/h3>\n

1. SOLIDARITY:<\/strong> Write a message<\/a> of hope to Kaciaryna Andrejeva.<\/h5>\n
2. ADVOCACY: <\/strong>Write to the Belarusian authorities and your diplomatic contacts.<\/h5>\n

PEN International urges the Belarusian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Kaciaryna Andrejeva as well as fellow writers and journalists held in Belarus solely for peacefully expressing their views.<\/p>\n

Appeal letters can be sent to:<\/p>\n

President of Belarus:<\/strong> Aliaksandr Luka\u0161enka
\nHead of the Administration of the President of Belarus:<\/strong> Dmitry\u00a0Krutoi
\nFirst Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of Belarus:<\/strong> Natalya Petkevich
\nAddress: Independence Palace, praspiekt Pieramo\u017eca\u016d 12, Minsk, Minskaja voblas\u0107, Belarus<\/p>\n

Please send electronic copies to:<\/p>\n

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus:<\/strong> Maxim Ryzhenkov. Email: mail@mfa.gov.by.
\nThe Embassy of Belarus<\/strong> in your own country. Embassy addresses may be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Please inform PEN International of any action you take and any feedback you receive.<\/p>\n

PEN International further urges the international community to continue to exert pressure on the Belarusian authorities to release those imprisoned on political grounds \u2013 including Andrejeva \u2013 and to redouble efforts to address gross human rights violations in Belarus. Appeals can be sent to your Ministry of Foreign Affairs and your diplomatic representatives in Belarus.<\/p>\n

3. SOCIAL MEDIA: <\/strong>Share the campaign on social media<\/h5>\n

Spread the word about Kaciaryna Andrejeva\u2019s case on social media. Use the sample messages below with the hashtags #KaciarynaAndrejeva and #ImprisonedWriter, tagging @pen_int and @pen_belarus (X), @peninternational and @pen_belarus <\/span>(Instagram), facebook.com\/peninternational and facebook.com\/penbelarus.org\u00a0 (Facebook).<\/p>\n

X<\/strong><\/p>\n

Journalist, writer and poet, #KaciarynaAndrejeva is serving an eight-year prison sentence in #Belarus on bogus charges of \u2018state treason\u2019, following her 15 November 2020 arrest. As we mark the Day of the #ImprisonedWriter and four years since her detention, will you join us
\nin calling for her immediate and unconditional release?<\/p>\n

Facebook and Instagram<\/strong><\/p>\n

Journalist, writer and poet, #KaciarynaAndrejeva (real name Bachva\u0142ava) is serving an eight-year prison sentence in a medium-security penal colony in Belarus on bogus charges of \u2018state treason\u2019, following her arrest on 15 November 2020. As we mark the Day of the #ImprisonedWriter and four years since her unjust detention, we stand with her. Will you join us in calling for her immediate and unconditional release?<\/p>\n

Visuals<\/strong><\/p>\n

Please share this graphic on social media to highlight Andrejeva\u2019s case: Instagram<\/a>, Facebook\/X<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read more about Kaciaryna Andrejeva\u2019s case<\/h5>\n

Journalist, writer and poet Kaciaryna Andrejeva was <\/span>arrested<\/span><\/a> in Minsk on 15 November 2020 together with her colleague from Belsat TV, Daria \u010culcova. They were livestreaming a peaceful protest honouring the memory of artist Raman Bandarenka, who was reportedly <\/span>killed<\/span><\/a> by Belarusian security officers following the <\/span>fraudulent<\/span><\/a> presidential elections of August 2020. Andrejeva and \u010culcova were sentenced to seven days of administrative detention on 17 November 2020, before being charged with \u2018organising and preparing of actions that grossly violate public order\u2019 under Article 342, Part 1, of the\u00a0Belarusian Criminal Code, and placed in pre-trial detention. On 18 February 2021, a court in Minsk found Andrejeva and \u010culcova guilty and <\/span>sentenced<\/span><\/a> them to two years in prison. Their sentence was upheld on appeal on 23 April 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

Andrejeva was scheduled to be released on 5 September 2022, yet on 13 July 2022, a court in Homel, southeastern Belarus, <\/span>sentenced<\/span><\/a> her to an additional eight years in prison on bogus charges of \u2018state treason\u2019, under <\/span>Article 356, Part 1<\/span><\/a>, of the Belarusian Criminal Code. The trial was held behind closed doors. The verdict was <\/span>upheld<\/span><\/a> on appeal on 20 September 2022. Andrejeva still has to serve the remaining three months in prison left in her first sentence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Born on 2 November 1993, Andrejeva\u2019s is an award-winning Belarusian journalist and writer. She was working for the leading independent broadcaster Belsat TV at the time of her arrest. Her documentary book <\/span>Belarusian Donbas<\/span><\/i>, co-authored with her husband, journalist Ihar Ilja\u0161, and published in 2020, details their investigation into the role of Belarusian citizens and organisations in the war in Donbas, Eastern Ukraine. The book was deemed \u2018extremist\u2019 by the Belarusian authorities and subsequently banned in 2021. Andrejeva started composing poetry while in prison. Her poems, published and translated by the #FreeAllWords initiative, are available <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The situation in Belarus remains of grave concern. As documented in a <\/span>report<\/span><\/a> by PEN Belarus published in July 2024, the past four years have been marked by repression on a global scale, with 1289 people being <\/span>held<\/span><\/a> on politically motivated grounds at the time of writing. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights <\/span>concluded<\/span><\/a> that some of the violations it documented may amount to crimes against humanity. Meanwhile, the <\/span>stigmatisation and repression<\/span><\/a> of Belarusian language and literature show no sign of abating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information about the work of PEN Belarus, including their monitoring of cultural and human rights violations against cultural workers, please click <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Share<\/h5>\n

Thank you for supporting <\/span>Kaciaryna Andrejeva<\/span>. Please share her story on social media to urge others to stand against the Belarusian authorities\u2019 ever-growing crackdown on independent views.<\/span><\/p>\n

Note to Editors:<\/b><\/p>\n