{"id":22085,"date":"2026-03-24T12:11:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T12:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/?p=22085"},"modified":"2026-03-24T12:14:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T12:14:33","slug":"belarus-immediately-release-all-those-still-unjustly-imprisoned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2026\/03\/24\/belarus-immediately-release-all-those-still-unjustly-imprisoned.html","title":{"rendered":"Belarus: Immediately release all those still unjustly imprisoned"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018PEN members around the world have actively campaigned for the release of Kaciaryna Andrejeva and Valeryja Ka\u015bciuhova. While we rejoice at their freedom, we vehemently condemn the Belarusian authorities\u2019 relentless campaign of repression. We stand with all those still detained in Belarus on spurious grounds and continue to urge full justice and accountability for the violations they suffered\u2019,<\/em>\u00a0said Ma Thida, Chair of PEN International\u2019s Writers in Prison Committee.<\/strong><\/p>\n

24 March 2026 \u2013 The Belarusian authorities must urgently free all those still unjustly jailed for their expression in Belarus and end their brutal crackdown on dissent, PEN International and PEN Belarus said today, following the release of 250 individuals, including writers Kaciaryna Andrejeva (Bachva\u0142ava) and Valeryja\u202fKa\u015bciuhova. Nearly 900 individuals <\/strong>remain behind bars<\/strong><\/a> on politically motivated grounds.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0On\u00a019 March\u00a02026,\u00a0250\u00a0individuals\u00a0were\u00a0released<\/a> from prison\u00a0in Belarus following\u00a0ongoing\u00a0negotiations with the United States\u00a0aimed at lifting economic sanctions,\u00a0with\u00a015\u00a0exiled\u00a0to\u00a0Lithuania\u00a0and\u00a0235 remaining in Belarus.\u00a0Among those released\u00a0and sent into exile\u00a0are\u00a0journalist, writer,\u00a0poet,\u00a0and Honorary PEN member Kaciaryna Andrejeva (Bachva\u0142ava)<\/a>, blogger\u00a0Eduard Pal\u010dys<\/a>,\u00a0as well as\u00a0prominent\u00a0human rights defenders<\/a> Marfa Rabkova, Nasta Loika and Valiantsin Stefanovich. Writer, editor and political scientist\u00a0Valeryja Ka\u015bciuhova<\/a>\u00a0was\u00a0also freed\u00a0and\u00a0remains\u00a0in Belarus\u00a0at the time of writing.<\/p>\n

PEN International and PEN Belarus welcome the writers\u2019 long-awaited\u00a0freedom yet reiterate concern at the fact that\u00a0some\u00a0were released into exile in Lithuania. The organisations call on the\u00a0Lithuanian authorities to ensure these individuals\u00a0have the possibility to travel to the country of their choice and are provided with clear and accessible information as well as comprehensive\u00a0assistance.<\/p>\n

Already on 13 December 2025, 123 individuals were\u00a0released<\/a>\u00a0from prison in Belarus\u00a0and sent into exile, including\u00a0writers Ales\u00a0Bialiatski, Aliaksandr\u00a0Fiaduta\u00a0and Maksim Znak. Fifty-two prisoners,\u00a0including philosopher Uladzimir\u00a0Mackievi\u010d,\u00a0had been similarly\u00a0released<\/a> into exile on 11 September 2025, following a group of 14 who were released on 21 June 2025. Many had their passports confiscated. Those freed\u00a0exposed<\/a>\u00a0how\u00a0prison authorities systematically confiscated and destroyed\u00a0their\u00a0manuscripts, letters, and other creative works,\u00a0in a bid to\u00a0erase both personal testimonies\u00a0and cultural memory.<\/p>\n

The latest wave of releases comes in the wake of a systematic crackdown in Belarus, where the authorities continue to crush dissent with complete impunity. Notably, on 27 February 2026, PEN Belarus was declared<\/a>\u00a0\u2018an extremist formation\u2019, resulting in alleged\u00a0members and supporters being liable to criminal prosecution and lengthy prison terms.\u00a0Several\u00a0publishers\u00a0were similarly\u00a0labelled\u00a0\u2018extremists\u2019,\u00a0with those\u00a0remaining\u00a0in Belarus being\u00a0detained and likely to face criminal charges.<\/p>\n

As repeatedly stressed by PEN International and PEN Belarus, prison conditions in Belarus amount to torture and other ill-treatment. Editor, political scientist, and trade union activist Vac\u0142a\u016d Are\u0161ka, songwriter and singer D\u017amitryj Ha\u0142ava\u010d, as well as writer, journalist and 2025 Sakharov Prize winner Andrzej Poczobut<\/a>,\u00a0are\u00a0amongst\u00a0several\u00a0writers and cultural figures<\/a>\u00a0still\u00a0imprisoned\u00a0in Belarus on trumped up grounds.\u00a0PEN International and PEN Belarus reiterate calls for their immediate and unconditional release, and for all those responsible for their wrongful imprisonment to be brought to account.<\/p>\n

Additional\u00a0information<\/strong><\/p>\n

An award-winning Belarusian journalist and writer, Kaciaryna\u00a0Andrejeva\u00a0was arrested in Minsk on 15 November 2020 while livestreaming a peaceful protest. Sentenced to two years in prison on 18 February 2021, she was handed an\u00a0additional\u00a0eight years on bogus charges of \u2018treason against the state\u2019 on 13 July 2022. Her non-fiction book\u00a0Belarusian Donbas<\/em>, co-authored with her husband, journalist Ihar Ilja\u0161 (also imprisoned<\/a>\u00a0on spurious grounds), was\u00a0deemed\u00a0\u2018extremist\u2019 by the Belarusian authorities\u00a0and\u00a0banned in 2021.\u00a0Andrejeva\u00a0started composing poetry while in prison; her poems have been published and translated by the\u00a0#FreeAllWords initiative<\/a>. PEN members have actively campaigned<\/a>\u00a0for her release.\u00a0She is an\u00a0Honorary\u00a0member<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0PEN\u00a0Catal\u00e0.<\/p>\n

Political scientist, editor, and writer\u00a0Valeryja Ka\u015bciuhova<\/a>\u00a0was detained on 30 June 2021\u00a0after writing\u00a0several analytical pieces following the fraudulent presidential election of August 2020.\u00a0She was\u00a0sentenced to\u00a010 years\u2019 imprisonment\u00a0on 17 March 2023 on trumped up charges of\u00a0calls to undermine national security, conspiracy to seize power through unconstitutional means, and incitement of social hostility.\u00a0Her name was added to the government\u2019s\u00a0lists of\u00a0\u2018extremists\u2019 and \u2018terrorists\u2019 in\u00a0August 2023. She was\u00a0reportedly in\u00a0need of medical care at the time of her release\u00a0and\u00a0notably\u00a0featured<\/a>\u00a0in PEN International\u2019s 2026 International Women\u2019s Day campaign.<\/p>\n

For more information about the work of PEN Belarus, including their monitoring of\u00a0cultural and human rights violations against cultural workers,\u00a0please click\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

For further details contact\u00a0Aur\u00e9lia Dondo,<\/strong>\u00a0Head of Europe and Central Asia Region at PEN International<\/p>\n

For media queries, please contact\u202fSabrina Tucci<\/strong>, Communications and Campaigns Manager at PEN International<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018PEN members around the world have actively campaigned for the release of Kaciaryna Andrejeva and Valeryja Ka\u015bciuhova. While we rejoice at their freedom, we vehemently condemn the Belarusian authorities\u2019 relentless campaign of repression. We stand with all those still detained in Belarus on spurious grounds and continue to urge full justice and accountability for the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":22087,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4255,4201],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-statement","category-cultural-right","category-solidarity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22085","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=22085"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22085\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22091,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22085\/revisions\/22091"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}