{"id":21903,"date":"2026-03-08T07:53:44","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T07:53:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/?p=21903"},"modified":"2026-03-08T08:52:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T08:52:30","slug":"international-womens-day-2026-take-action-for-valeryja-kasciuhova-belarus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2026\/03\/08\/international-womens-day-2026-take-action-for-valeryja-kasciuhova-belarus.html","title":{"rendered":"International Women\u2019s Day 2026: Take Action for Valeryja Ka\u015bciuhova (Belarus)"},"content":{"rendered":"

8 March 2026:<\/strong> Writer, editor and political scientist Valeryja Ka\u015bciuhova<\/a> is serving a 10-year prison sentence in Homel, Belarus. Arrested in June 2021, she was convicted in March 2023 on politically motivated charges commonly used to silence independent voices and is reportedly in need of medical care.<\/p>\n

PEN International is deeply concerned by Ka\u015bciuhova\u2019s continued imprisonment and urges the Belarusian authorities to release her immediately and unconditionally, and to ensure she has access to adequate medical care while in detention.<\/p>\n

Take action with us on<\/strong> International Women\u2019s Day 2026<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

How you can help:<\/strong><\/h4>\n

PEN International calls on the Belarusian authorities to release Valeryja Ka\u015bciuhova immediately and unconditionally and ensure she receives proper medical care while detained.<\/p>\n

Advocacy<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Please reach out to your Ministry of Foreign Affairs and diplomatic representatives in Belarus, calling on them to raise the case of Ka\u015bciuhova in bilateral fora.<\/p>\n

Solidarity<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Please send messages of solidarity to Valeryja Ka\u015bciuhova. Messages can be sent via this form<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Please include a Belarusian or Russian translation of your message (e.g. using Google Translate).<\/p>\n

Social Media<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Spread the word about Valeryja Ka\u015bciuhova\u2019s case on social media. Use the hashtags # Valeryja Ka\u015bciuhova, #IWD26 and #InternationalWomensDay, tagging @peninternational<\/a> (Instagram), facebook.com\/peninternational<\/a> (Facebook) and @peninternational.bsky.social<\/a> (Bluesky).<\/p>\n

Bluesky<\/strong><\/p>\n

#InternationalWomenDay: Imagine being behind bars just for being a woman who writes and speaks out. The Belarusian authorities must release #ValeryjaKa\u015bciuhova immediately and unconditionally and ensure she has access to medical care while detained. Stand with her today. #IWD26<\/p>\n

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

#InternationalWomenDay: Imagine being imprisoned simply for being a woman who writes and speaks out. The Belarusian authorities must release #ValeryjaKa\u015bciuhova immediately and unconditionally and ensure she has access to medical care while in detention.<\/p>\n

Her imprisonment is a direct attack on women, writers, and independent voices in Belarus. Stand in solidarity with her today and demand her freedom. Every voice counts. #IWD26<\/p>\n

Visuals<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Please share this graphic<\/a> on social media to highlight Valeryja Ka\u015bciuhova\u2019s case.<\/p>\n

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Background<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Valeryja Ka\u015bciuhova,<\/strong> a political scientist, editor, and writer, is currently serving a 10-year sentence in a general-regime penal colony in Homel, southeastern Belarus. Reports<\/a> indicate that she requires medical attention.<\/p>\n

Ka\u015bciuhova was detained on 30 June 2021 after State Security Committee (KGB) officers raided<\/a> her apartment. She was then taken to a pre-trial detention facility in Minsk. Authorities charged her, alongside researcher Ta\u0107ciana Kuzina, with multiple offences, including alleged calls to undermine national security, conspiracy to seize power through unconstitutional means, and incitement of social hostility, under Articles 361(3), 357(1), and 130(4) of the Belarusian Criminal Code.<\/p>\n

Their joint trial began in Minsk on 6 February 2023. On 17 March 2023, both women were convicted and sentenced to 10 years\u2019 imprisonment. Ka\u015bciuhova\u2019s sentence was upheld<\/a> by the Supreme Court on 25 July 2023. The following month, her name was added <\/a>to Belarus\u2019s official lists of individuals accused of involvement in so-called \u201cextremist\u201d and \u201cterrorist\u201d activities.<\/p>\n

Born on 30 December 1967, Ka\u015bciuhova founded and edits the independent analytical and opinion platform Nashe Mneniye<\/em> (\u201cOur Opinion\u201d). She is also the author and editor of the Belarusian Yearbook<\/em> and oversees Belarus in Focus, a group of Belarusian experts providing analytical commentaries on events pertaining to Belarus<\/em>. In the aftermath of the disputed August 2020 presidential election, she published a series of analytical pieces<\/a> on Nashe Mneniye<\/em> examining the political situation in the country.<\/p>\n

As repeatedly highlighted by PEN Belarus and PEN International, prison conditions in Belarus amount to torture and other ill-treatment. Several writers were released<\/a> from Belarusian prisoners and sent into exile in 2025 following negotiations with the United States aimed at ifting economic sanctions \u2014 including PEN members Ale\u015b Bialacki<\/a>, Alaksandr Fiaduta<\/a> and Maksim Znak<\/a>. At least 30 writers and 146 cultural<\/a> figures were either imprisoned or under house arrest on fabricated charges at the time of writing, including journalist, writer and poet Kaciaryna Andrejeva<\/a>, editor, political scientist, and trade union activist Vac\u0142a\u016d Are\u0161ka<\/a>, songwriter and singer D\u017amitryj Ha\u0142ava\u010d<\/a>, and writer, journalist and 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought laureate Andrzej Poczobut<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more information about the situation for freedom of expression in Belarus, please see PEN Belarus, PEN International, and PEN America\u2019s joint submission<\/a> to the UN Human Rights Council, which documents the Belarusian authorities\u2019 pervasive clampdown on freedom of expression, cultural rights and linguistic rights.<\/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 here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Share<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Thank you for supporting Valeryja Ka\u015bciuhova. Please share her story on social media.<\/p>\n

Note to editors:<\/strong><\/p>\n