{"id":23301,"date":"2026-07-16T16:54:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T16:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/?p=23301"},"modified":"2026-07-17T14:37:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T14:37:10","slug":"hronika-parushennyau-pravou-chalaveka-u-sfery-kultury-1-15-lipenya-2026-goda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2026\/07\/16\/hronika-parushennyau-pravou-chalaveka-u-sfery-kultury-1-15-lipenya-2026-goda.html","title":{"rendered":"Chronicle of human rights violations in the sphere of culture (1-15 July 2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"

To report a violation (including confidentially) or to correct data presented in the report, please contact us at\u00a0dapamoha@penbelarus.org\u00a0or t.me\/viadoma.<\/em><\/p>\n

As of 30 June 2026, at least 123 cultural figures, including at least 23 writers, were either imprisoned or under home confinement. The number of banned books climbed to 366.<\/b><\/p>\n

A new politically motivated criminal case was initiated against former political prisoner, publisher, and cultural manager <\/span>Pavie\u0142 Ma\u017eejka<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

A politically motivated sentence was handed down to <\/span>Tacciana \u0160arak<\/b>, lead singer of the cover band <\/span>3rd Region<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Activist and promoter of Belarusian culture <\/span>Nina Bahinskaja<\/b> was detained in Minsk.<\/span><\/p>\n

The stores <\/span>Honar<\/b>, <\/span>LSTR Adzie\u0144nie<\/b>, and <\/span>Ragna<\/b> have announced their closure.<\/span><\/p>\n

The authorities have sold the apartment of writer and journalist <\/span>U\u0142adzimir Chilmanovi\u010d<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Authorities target writer <\/span>Sa\u0161a Filipienka (Sasha Filipenko)<\/b> in connection with the case against the European Humanities University (EHU)<\/span>.<\/b><\/p>\n

Security service officers are pressuring acquaintances of <\/span>Julija Katar\u017eynskaja<\/b>, a cultural manager and promoter of Belarusian culture.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Zavodski District Court of Minsk declared books by <\/span>Sviat\u0142ana Aleksijevi\u010d<\/b> and <\/span>\u0141arysa Hieniju\u0161<\/b> to be \u201cextremist.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The international historical re-enactment festival <\/span>Na\u0161 Hrunvald 2026<\/b> (Our Gruenwald 2026) was cancelled.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

1.<\/strong> On 7 July, it became known that the Homiel Regional Court had handed down a politically motivated sentence against <\/span>Tacciana \u0160arak<\/b>. She was convicted under Article 361-4(1) and (2) of the Criminal Code (facilitating extremist activity). She is believed to have received a sentence of restricted freedom under home confinement. \u0160arak worked at the <\/span>Belarusnafta branch in Re\u010dyca, a state-owned oil operator, and was the lead singer of the cover band <\/span>3rd Region<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> On 13 July, it became known that a new politically motivated criminal case had been initiated against former political prisoner, publisher, and cultural manager <\/span>Pavie\u0142 Ma\u017eejka<\/b>. The case had in fact been opened on 11 May 2026, apparently under Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code (facilitating extremist activity). \u201cI do not know exactly what the case concerns. What I do know is that dozens of so-called procedural actions have been carried out against my relatives, family members, and acquaintances: searches, interrogations, including informal conversations,\u201d Ma\u017eejka said.<\/span><\/p>\n

II. Persecution and administrative arrests of cultural figures and participants in cultural events<\/b><\/h5>\n

On 14 July, it became known that activist and promoter of Belarusian culture <\/span>Nina Bahinskaja<\/b> had been detained on a street in Minsk. Police officers searched her personal belongings without explanation and confiscated a book.<\/span><\/p>\n

III. Closure of stores selling clothing brands and ethnic products with national symbols<\/b><\/h5>\n

1.<\/strong> On 10 July 2026, the contemporary Belarusian clothing store <\/span>Honar<\/b> announced on its social media that it would cease operations on 19 July.<\/span><\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> On 11 July, the <\/span>Ragna<\/b> store in Minsk closed after 13 years of operation as a cultural and ethnic hub bringing together craftspeople and enthusiasts of traditional Belarusian culture.<\/span><\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> On 12 July, information emerged about the closure of the <\/span>LSTR Adzie\u0144nie<\/b> store. Its founders announced the decision on social media.<\/span><\/p>\n

IV. Persecution of cultural figures in exile<\/b><\/h5>\n

1.<\/strong> On 1 July, it became known that the apartment of writer and journalist <\/span>U\u0142adzimir Chilmanovi\u010d<\/b> had been sold at auction on 30 June. His property was put on sale as a result of politically motivated persecution. On 19 August 2024, the Hrodna Regional Court sentenced Chilmanovi\u010d, in absentia, to five years’ imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony and imposed a fine of 40,000 BYN (approximately 13,370 USD). The sale of his property is intended to recover the fine. On 23 June, his summer house in the village of Navasio\u0142ki, Masty District, was also sold at auction.<\/span><\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> On 13 July, it became known that police officers and KGB officials had visited the relatives of writer <\/span>Sa\u0161a Filipienka<\/b> in Belarus in connection with the case against the European Humanities University (EHU)<\/span>.<\/b> \u201cThe last time they came because I had also studied at EHU. Apparently, they wanted to find out what exactly I had done there, although I only completed my first year, when EHU was still in Minsk, before it was closed,\u201d the writer said.<\/span><\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> On 14 July, the apartment of the former wife of <\/span>Ihar Stankievi\u010d<\/b>, a researcher of Stalinist repressions, was searched by five officers, including KGB personnel. They were interested in the activities of the Nation of Leaders initiative, which organises online courses on topics ranging from civic activism to genealogy. Stankievi\u010d was forced to leave Belarus for Poland under the threat of politically motivated prosecution. The social media accounts of his initiative Kabylaki. Executed in Or\u0161a were designated \u201cextremist information products,\u201d and his name was added to the joint wanted persons database of Belarus and Russia.<\/span><\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> On 15 July<\/span>,<\/b> it became known that security service officers in Hrodna were putting pressure on acquaintances of <\/span>Julija Katar\u017eynskaja<\/b>, a cultural manager and promoter of Belarusian culture who was forced to leave Belarus. \u201cThey summoned my former classmates from school and university and lecturers for questioning \u2013 people I hadn’t spoken to for some fifteen years,\u201d Katar\u017eynskaja said.<\/span><\/p>\n

V. Banned books\u00a0<\/b><\/h5>\n

On 2 July, the Zavodski District Court of Minsk declared a number of printed publications \u201cextremist materials,\u201d including:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Sviat\u0142ana Aleksijevi\u010d. 100 Quotes on Svaboda<\/i><\/b>;\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n
  • Frozen White Expanse. A Collection of Songs Based on Poems by \u0141arysa Hieniju\u0161 and Pietra Rusava<\/i><\/b>;\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n
  • Mienskaja Viasna<\/i><\/b> (<\/b>Minsk Spring<\/i><\/b>), <\/b>Na\u0161a Niva<\/i><\/b>, 1996;\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n
  • Don’t Make Fun of My Prepositions<\/i><\/b> by Vincuk Via\u010dorka;\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n
  • The People’s Programme \u201cFree Belarus\u201d<\/i><\/b> (Warsaw\u2013New York\u2013Minsk);\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n
  • Neo-Communism in Belarus: Ideology, Practice, Prospects<\/i><\/b> by Stanis\u0142a\u016d \u0160u\u0161kievi\u010d;\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n
  • The Belarusian Political System and the 2001 Presidential Election<\/i><\/b> (Analytical Group, Warsaw: Centre for Democracy in Eastern Europe);\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n
  • The Fate of the Lyceum. Autobiographical Notes<\/i><\/b> by U\u0142adzimir Ko\u0142as;\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n
  • Programme of Constitutional Reforms<\/i><\/b> by Michai\u0142 Pastucho\u016d<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    VI. Designation of cultural projects\u2019 social media as \u201cextremist\u201d<\/b><\/h5>\n

    <\/b>1.<\/strong> On 7 July 2026, the Horki District Court of Mahilo\u016d Region declared the <\/span>instbelknihi<\/b> account of the <\/span>Institute of the Belarusian Book<\/b> to be \u201cextremist\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

    <\/b>2.<\/strong> On 14 July 2026<\/span>,<\/b> the Leninski District Court of Hrodna declared the website and social media pages of the NGO <\/span>Fundacja OKNO NA WSCH\u00d3D<\/b> to be \u201cextremist materials\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

    VII. Designation of cultural figures\u2019 social media as \u201cextremist\u201d<\/b><\/h5>\n

    On 8 July 2026, the Krasnapolle, Mahilo\u016d Region District Court declared the Instagram account <\/span>fraudrobysh<\/b>, belonging to <\/span>Kryscina Droby\u0161<\/b>, \u201cextremist\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

    VIII. Designation of cultural projects as \u201cextremist formations\u201d<\/b><\/h5>\n

    On 14 July, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB designated the international marketplace <\/span>Kamaro\u016dka<\/b>, which sells books, clothing, home d\u00e9cor, cosmetics, and other products for Belarusians around the world, an \u201cextremist formation\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

    IX. Cancellation of cultural events<\/b><\/h5>\n

    1.<\/strong> In the village of Latochi, near Viciebsk, the authorities posted a notice banning the traditional Kupalle celebration. Residents were warned that participating in the festivities could result in administrative penalties, including fines and short-term detention.<\/span><\/p>\n

    2.<\/strong> On 10 July, it became known that the 17th International Historical Re-enactment Festival \u201cNa\u0161 Hrunvald 2026\u201d, scheduled to take place at the end of July, had been cancelled. The organisers announced the decision on social media:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cThis is an extremely difficult message for us to share. With great regret, we announce that despite enormous preparations, months of work, and all our efforts, the 17th historical re-enactment festival <\/span>Na\u0161 Hrunvald 2026<\/span> will not take place in Dudutki at the end of July, as it has for the past sixteen consecutive years. Circumstances have arisen that make it impossible to hold the festival on the planned dates.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

    The organisers did not disclose the reasons for the cancellation in their public statement.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    To report a violation (including confidentially) or to correct data presented in the report, please contact us at\u00a0dapamoha@penbelarus.org\u00a0or t.me\/viadoma. As of 30 June 2026, at least 123 cultural figures, including at least 23 writers, were either imprisoned or under home confinement. The number of banned books climbed to 366. A new politically motivated criminal case<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":23313,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4255],"tags":[4291,4285],"class_list":["post-23301","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\/23301","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=23301"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23314,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23301\/revisions\/23314"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}