{"id":18300,"date":"2025-02-17T14:24:25","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T14:24:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/?p=18300"},"modified":"2025-03-03T07:33:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T07:33:46","slug":"hronika-parushennyau-pravou-chalaveka-u-sfery-kultury-1-15-lyutaga-2025-goda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2025\/02\/17\/hronika-parushennyau-pravou-chalaveka-u-sfery-kultury-1-15-lyutaga-2025-goda.html","title":{"rendered":"Chronicle of human rights violations in the sphere of culture (1-15 February 2025)"},"content":{"rendered":"

As of\u00a015 February 2025, at least 170 cultural figures, including not less than 36\u00a0People of Word, were not free \u2013 behind bars or in home confinement.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The author of non-fiction literature, Ihar Ilja\u0161<\/strong>, was charged under Article 369-1 of the Criminal Code (discrediting Belarus) and Part 2 of Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code (facilitating extremist activities).<\/p>\n

A new trial has begun against the political prisoner, screenwriter, and musician Kiry\u0142 Vieviel<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hanna Arciu\u0161kievi\u010d<\/strong>, an author of fantasy novels, was tried for the “distribution of extremist materials.”<\/p>\n

There have been no phone calls from political prisoner, journalist, and poet Dzianis Iva\u0161yn <\/strong>for three months.<\/p>\n

A criminal trial has begun against the relatives of the author of prison literature, Alaksandr Franckievi\u010d <\/strong>\u2014 Tacciana Franckievi\u010d <\/strong>(mother) and Natalla \u0141abacevi\u010d <\/strong>(aunt).<\/p>\n

A court in Belarus added the following books to the list of “extremist” materials: memoirs by journalist and political figure Siarhiej Navum\u010dyk<\/strong>: Ninety-Second<\/em><\/strong> (2017) and Ninety-Third<\/em><\/strong> (2018); the album Belarusian People’s Republic-100: Celebrating the 100th Anniversary in Belarus and Abroad<\/em><\/strong> (2019); Marat Haravy’s NKVD Executions in Kurapaty<\/em>… <\/strong>(2019); a collection of short stories \u010carviak<\/em> <\/strong>(Worm) by political prisoner, prison literature author Zmicier Da\u0161kievi\u010d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The “Cudo\u016dnia” store owner in Hrodna, Andrej Niesciarovi\u010d<\/strong>, was arrested for participating in the 2020 protests. He is currently being held in pre-trial detention.<\/p>\n

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

1.<\/strong> On 7 February, the criminal charges for the author of non-fiction literature, Ihar Ilja\u0161<\/strong>, became known – Article 369-1 of the Criminal Code (discrediting Belarus) and Part 2 of Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code (facilitating extremist activities). The Minsk City Court will hear the criminal case on 21 February. Ihar Ilja\u0161’s detention was reported on 22 October 2024. He is a journalist who, together with his wife, journalist (now political prisoner) Kaciaryna Andrejeva (Bachva\u0142ava)<\/strong>, published the book Belarusian Donbas<\/em> (2020) about the participation of Belarusians in the war in Eastern Ukraine. In March 2021, a court ruled that this book was “extremist.”<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> On 14 February, a new trial began in the Minsk City Court against political prisoner, screenwriter, and musician Kiry\u0142 Vieviel<\/strong>. He is charged under Part 3 of Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code (participation in an extremist formation) and Part 1 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code (incitement to hatred and discord). In September 2024, Kiry\u0142 Vieviel was sentenced to three years in a penal colony under Article 361 of the Criminal Code (calls for actions aimed at harming the national security of the Republic of Belarus).<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> On 6 February, the owner of the Hrodna-based store “Cudo\u016dnia,” Andrej Niesciarovi\u010d<\/strong>, was detained, reportedly in connection with a criminal case for participating in the 2020 protests. He is being held in pre-trial detention until the court hearing. The ethnographic store “Cudo\u016dnia” has operated in Hrodna since 2015, selling souvenirs and handmade products by Belarusian artisans. After the 2020 elections, the store faced fines and eviction from its premises. Previously, Andrej Niesciarovi\u010d had been detained for short-term administrative arrests.<\/p>\n

II<\/strong>. <\/strong>Detentions and administrative trials<\/strong><\/h5>\n

On 14 February, fantasy novel author Hanna Arciu\u0161kievi\u010d<\/strong> appeared in Minsk’s Saviecki District Court under Part 2 of Article 19.11 of the Code of Administrative Offences (distribution of extremist materials).<\/p>\n

III<\/strong>. <\/strong>Conditions in the places of incarceration <\/strong><\/h5>\n

For three months, there have been no phone calls from Dzianis Iva\u0161yn<\/strong>, a political prisoner, journalist, poet, and the 2024 laureate of the Franci\u0161ak Alachnovi\u010d Prize for poetry written in prison. His wife, Volha Iva\u0161yna<\/strong>, suspects that he may have been placed in a punitive confinement cell.<\/p>\n

IV<\/strong>. <\/strong>Repressions<\/strong> against<\/strong> the<\/strong> family<\/strong> members<\/strong> of<\/strong> political prisoners People of Word<\/strong><\/h5>\n

On 10 February, a trial began in the Viciebsk Regional Court in the criminal case against the relatives of prison literature author Alaksandr Franckievi\u010d<\/strong> \u2014his mother, Tacciana Franckievi\u010d<\/strong>, and his aunt, Natalla \u0141abacevi\u010d<\/strong>. They are accused under Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code (facilitating extremist activities). The women were detained on 19 July 2024 in Navapolack when they brought a care package for Alaksandr Franckievi\u010d to the penal colony. Alaksandr Franckievi\u010d is a two-time political prisoner; he served his first sentence on politically motivated charges from 2010 to 2013. In 2013, he became a laureate of the Franci\u0161ak Alachnovi\u010d Award for his short story Hug Me Tighter<\/em>, written in prison. On 6 September 2022, Alaksandr Franckievi\u010d was sentenced to 17 years of imprisonment.<\/p>\n

V<\/strong>. <\/strong>Repressions in the book sector<\/strong><\/h5>\n

1.<\/strong> On 4 February, it became known that Minsk’s Zavodski District Court ruled to designate the album Belarusian People’s Republic-100: Celebrating the 100th Anniversary in Belarus and Abroad<\/em><\/strong> (2019) and Marat Haravy’s<\/strong> book NKVD Executed in Kurapaty<\/em><\/strong>… <\/strong>(2019) as “extremist materials.”<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> On 11 February, Minsk’s Zavodski District Court added two books of memoirs by journalist and political figure Siarhiej Navum\u010dyk<\/strong> \u2014 Ninety-Second<\/strong> <\/em>(2017) and Ninety-Third<\/em><\/strong> (2018)\u2014to the list of “extremist materials.”<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> On 11 February, Minsk’s Zavodski District Court also labelled \u010carviak<\/em><\/strong> (The Worm) <\/em>(2013) \u2014 a collection of short stories by political prisoner and prison literature author Zmicier Da\u0161kievi\u010d<\/strong> \u2014 as “extremist materials.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As of\u00a015 February 2025, at least 170 cultural figures, including not less than 36\u00a0People of Word, were not free \u2013 behind bars or in home confinement. The author of non-fiction literature, Ihar Ilja\u0161, was charged under Article 369-1 of the Criminal Code (discrediting Belarus) and Part 2 of Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code (facilitating<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":18307,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4255],"tags":[4291,4285],"class_list":["post-18300","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\/18300","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=18300"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18308,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18300\/revisions\/18308"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}