As of 15 August 2025, at least 158 cultural figures, including 41 writers, were not free \u2013 either imprisoned or in home confinement.<\/b><\/p>\n
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has added cultural promoter <\/span>Nina Bahinskaja<\/b> to the \u201clist of individuals associated with extremist activities\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n The Telegram channel <\/span>Fundacja Tutaka<\/i><\/b> has been designated as \u201cextremist\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n The information materials of the Instagram account <\/span>Bie\u0142aruski martyra\u0142oh<\/b> (<\/span>Belarusian Martyrology)<\/b> have been labelled as \u201cextremist\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n The anti-war novel <\/span>The Elephant<\/span><\/i> by writer <\/span>Sa\u0161a Filipienka (Sasha Filipenko)<\/b> was withdrawn from sale on the <\/span>Wildberries<\/span><\/i> marketplace.<\/span><\/p>\n The Ministry of Information has added 31 new entries to the list of \u201cbanned books\u201d, among them <\/span>Here They Are, and Here We Are\u2014Belarusian Poetry and Poems of Solidarity<\/i><\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n 1.<\/b> On 2 August, details emerged regarding the detention of artists <\/span>Ludmi\u0142a \u0160\u010damialova<\/b> and <\/span>Ihar Ryma\u0161e\u016dski<\/b>. According to information passed to human rights defenders by a detainee who had shared a cell with Ludmi\u0142a \u0160\u010damialova in the temporary detention centre:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey came with a search warrant to the home of a man who had one of her paintings. It was neither in white-red-white colours nor protest-themed, but they simply did not like it. Afterwards, they came to search the home of Ludmi\u0142a<\/span> and her husband, Ihar Ryma\u0161e\u016dski. The authorities labelled them an \u2018extremist group\u2019 and brought charges under Article 357 of the Criminal Code.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The information that artists Ludmi\u0142a \u0160\u010damialova and Ihar Ryma\u0161e\u016dski had been arrested on politically motivated charges was confirmed on 29 November 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/b>2.<\/strong> On 15 August, the Ministry of Internal Affairs added cultural promoter <\/span>Nina Bahinskaja<\/b> to the \u201clist of individuals associated with extremist activity\u201d. On 30 May 2025, Minsk\u2019s Pier\u0161amajski District Court held a trial against the 78-year-old under Article 342-2 of the Criminal Code (repeated violation of the procedure for organising or holding mass events) for displaying national symbols on the streets of Minsk in 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n The charges were based on administrative offence reports and court rulings issued in 2024 concerning the use of national symbols. One offence report was filed concerning a T-shirt bearing the slogan \u201cNo to War!\u201d. Nina Bahinskaya was found guilty of \u201crepeatedly violating the law on mass gatherings\u201d, but the court applied Article 79 of the Criminal Code (conviction without imposition of punishment) and placed her under \u201cpreventive supervision\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n Additional checks continue at border posts upon entry into Belarus, including phone inspections, interrogations, and detentions. Those detained are held in a temporary detention facility in the nearest city until trial, after which they are either fined and released or sentenced to several days of arrest.<\/span><\/p>\n Testimonies from detainees describe inhuman conditions in the temporary detention centre in Brest: lack of oxygen in the basement cells, unsanitary conditions, and severe infestations of bedbugs, the bites of which cause intense itching and swelling, and in some cases trigger allergic reactions.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nI. Criminal prosecution of cultural figures, authors, and performers<\/b><\/h5>\n
II. Conditions in the places of detention\u00a0<\/b><\/h5>\n
III. Designation of cultural initiatives as \u201cextremist\u201d\u00a0<\/b><\/h5>\n