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Persecution, Convictions, Cultural Policy<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Maria Kalesnikava<\/b>, musician, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison, and <\/span>Maksim Znak<\/b>, a lawyer-poet, to 10 years. They were <\/span>found guilty<\/span><\/a> under three articles of the Criminal Code: conspiracy to seize power, calls for actions aimed at harming national security, the creation of an extremist group or its leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n Several participants of the <\/span>\u201cBattle of Or\u0161a\u201d festival<\/b>, which has been held either underground or hasn\u2019t been advertised publicly in recent years, were detained. Among them, <\/span>Jurka Kopcik<\/b>, a long-time festival organizer, local historian and journalist from Or\u0161a. The detained received 10 days of administrative arrest.<\/span><\/p>\n Employees of the cultural center “Korpus” in Minsk were detained and sentenced to administrative arrest \u201cfor disobedience to the police\u201d: <\/span>Alaksandr Bahdana\u016d<\/b> and <\/span>Maksim Kruk<\/b> were arrested for 10 days, <\/span>Lizavieta Nie\u016dmiar\u017eyckaja<\/b> \u2013 for 8 days.<\/span><\/p>\n Vadzim Jerma\u0161uk<\/b>, blogger, was sentenced to another 15 days of administrative arrest \u2013 on top of the 25, which he\u2019s been serving since August 19.<\/span><\/p>\n Ale\u015b Mina\u016d<\/b>, a young writer and teacher of Belarusian language and literature, has been charged under Part 1 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus (organization of group actions that grossly violate public order and involve clear disobedience to the lawful demands of the authorities, and active participation in such actions).<\/span><\/p>\n Viktoryja Lovina<\/b> was fined 80 basic units (about 915 Euro) for her white-red-white hair. <\/span><\/p>\n Aliaksej Busie\u0142<\/b>, sound director and musician from the band Favorite Mirror, was detained on the morning of September 9 at the local march in Minsk’s Kunca\u016d\u0161\u010dyna. He was beaten and tortured with an electric shock, and then arrested for 15 days. His mother was arrested along with him.<\/span><\/p>\n Miko\u0142a Papieka<\/b>, a poet, was sent to serve his 2-year sentence in the open air prison 400 kilometers from home, for the case known as \u201ckarahod\u201d case. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kaciaryna Pytleva<\/b>, a journalist, TV presenter and poet, who resigned from state television in 2020 and immigrated to work on an independent media project <\/span>Malanka Media<\/span><\/a>, on September 8 reported a search in the Minsk apartment where she used to live with her family. The doors were broken, the speakers cut, the hedgehog figures smashed with a hammer, the wedding photos cut, the vinyl collection broken, cereals and flour all over the apartment.<\/span><\/p>\n The website of <\/span>Radio Racyja<\/b> was blocked in Belarus. Access to the resource is limited by the decision of the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus. Dozens of programs on Belarusian history, music and literature have been broadcast on this Radio for 15 years.<\/span><\/p>\n The authorities are liquidating the <\/span>Belarusian Committee of the international organization <\/b>ICOMOS<\/b> which in Belarus has been focusing on preservation and restoration of historical objects.<\/span><\/p>\n Life of the Imprisoned People<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Ihar Bancar<\/b>, a political prisoner, punk musician and activist, was given another 10 days in the punitive confinement. Thus, he will spend a total of 40 days there \u2013 in complete isolation and without any care packages. Before he was put in the solitary confinement “for violating the regime”, Ihar had faced pressure from the administration of\u00a0 the open air prison in Viciebsk, where he is serving his sentence. There were open threats that the musician would have problems and go to the colony. Acquaintances attribute this to the fact that he refused to write a plea for mercy addressed to Lukashenka.<\/span><\/p>\n Maria Kalesnikava <\/b>and<\/span> Maksim Znak <\/b>could meet with their fathers, for the first time over the year.<\/span><\/p>\n Natalla Chier\u0161e<\/b>\u2019s brother received a letter from her, for the first time over the four months. Now she is kept in a cell-type room \u2013 one is placed there for violating the prison order. Natalla is feeling ok, her diet has improved a bit, but there is a lack of fruits and vegetables. She has problems with hair \u2013 it has become thinner and falls out; Natalla believes the matter is a lack of iron. She reads books and writes complaints to the prison administration about what she disagrees with.<\/span><\/p>\n Dissent and Cultural Activism<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Tribute by cactus.art to <\/span>Maria Kalesnikava and Maksim Znak<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n A Sunday <\/span>School of Belarusian Tradition<\/b> for children will open in Bialystok.<\/span><\/p>\n Belarusian musician <\/span>Ale\u015b Jasinski<\/b> performed<\/span><\/a> the composition “Mury”, a symbol of the Belarusian protest.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/1_maryya-i-maksim-340x240.jpeg\")
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