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Monitoring of violations of cultural and human rights against cultural workers in Belarus. January-September 2021<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n PEN Belarus<\/b> prepared a regular <\/span>report<\/b><\/a> based on the monitoring of cultural and human rights violations against cultural workers in Belarus. The document contains statistics regarding these violations. It is based on open source information and communication with cultural workers between January and September 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n Persecution, Convictions, Censorship, Cultural Policy<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Pavie\u0142 Arakielan<\/b>, musician, has to sell his instruments because “everything connected with music has stopped completely, and you need resources to live.”<\/span><\/p>\n The Homel-based <\/span>Charitable Foundation Razam Tut<\/b> (Together Here), which helped socialize people with disabilities, as well as ran various creative and theatrical projects involving such people, was liquidated because it was mentioned in a publication by the independent portal Homel media Flagstock, whose materials are recognized as extremist.<\/span><\/p>\n \u200b\u200bA <\/span>search<\/b> was held on October 20 in the Babrujsk-based <\/span>creative space “13:87”<\/b>, which held educational events \u2014 seminars and lectures, creative workshops, poetry readings, courses for pensioners and schoolchildren. The search lasted about 4 hours, the club’s founder Natalla Cha\u0142anskaja and director Sam were detained and released later the same night, their telephones taken away. <\/span><\/p>\n Another search took place in the home of<\/span> Aksana Zareckaja<\/b>, a culturologist and etiquette expert, on October 21.<\/span><\/p>\n From November in the pre-trial prison No. 1 in Minsk, <\/span>restrictions<\/b> are introduced f<\/strong><\/span>or subscriptions to newspapers and magazines<\/b>: only prisoners themselves will be allowed to subscribe for the money they have in their personal accounts, and only for Belarusian publications, unlike previously when anyone could get them subscribed.<\/span><\/p>\n Life of the Imprisoned People<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n U\u0142adzimir Mackievi\u010d<\/b>, philosopher and methodologist, founder of the Flying University, writes from behind bars:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAppreciate freedom, live a full life. And don’t be lazy to go to the lake and everything else. In prison you realize how many things there are that you could do without, but that\u2019s on one hand. On the other hand, you realize how many things you didn\u2019t appreciate enough when it was possible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Ale\u015b Mina\u016d<\/b>, a teacher of Belarusian language and literature, poet, who was detained in late August on suspicion of participating or organizing riots, writes from prison that poems, many of which he keeps in his mind, are very helpful and supportive. Letters are “extremely uplifting”. Ale\u015b misses music. He writes that he takes everything quite calmly and does not regret anything.<\/span><\/p>\n Radio Liberty\/Free Europe has <\/span>published a long-read<\/span><\/a> based on the letters from <\/span>Viktar Babaryka<\/b>, in which he shares his opinion on culture and society, tells about his life in the colony, recommends books to read, expresses thoughts about Belarus and the post-election events.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t be sad,\u201d \u2014 what <\/span>Ale\u015b Bialacki<\/b> writes<\/span><\/a> in his letters from prison. <\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/1_manitoryng._byjpeg.jpeg\")
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