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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 Ihar Ku\u017aniaco\u016d<\/b>, historian, one of the top professors at the Belarusian State University, author of 120 books, including textbooks and manuals, was tried on October 27 based on 17 denunciations for his publications and reposts on social networks. The trial lasted one minute, the case was sent for revision. Ihar was fired from the Belarusian State University on the same day.<\/span><\/p>\n Zmicier \u0160ymanski<\/b>, a musician detained on August 2 under Art. 342 of the Criminal Code \u2014 Organization or active participation in group actions that grossly violate public order \u2014 for playing at the peaceful rally on August 16, 20 in Minsk, was sentenced to three years in an open air prison.<\/span><\/p>\n On October 28, <\/span>Arciemij Nikicienka<\/b> was sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest for two white bracelets he had on one arm and one red bracelet on the other.<\/span><\/p>\n Vadzim Sarafana\u016d<\/b> was sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest for a white-red-white ribbon attached to the rear-view mirror in his car.<\/span><\/p>\n Ta\u0107ciana Ala\u0161kievi\u010d<\/b> was sentenced to 13 days of administrative arrest for allegedly tieing\u00a0 white-red-white ribbons on trees. <\/span><\/p>\n Texts and statements of <\/span>U\u0142adzimir Mackievi\u010d<\/b>, philosopher, methodologist, co-founder of the Flying University, author of books and publications, were sent for examination to identify signs of incitement to racial, national, religious, or other social hatred. U\u0142adzimir was detained on August 4 and charged with organizing actions that grossly violate public order. <\/span><\/p>\n Life of the Imprisoned People<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n U\u0142adzimir Hundar<\/b>, local historian and publisher, has been kept in the pre-trial prison in Brest since spring 2020. He has one leg, but was not allowed to have his\u00a0 prosthetic leg, he uses crutches. Like other political prisoners, he was labeled as “prone to extremism.” In one of his letters to his wife U\u0142adzimir writes,<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not living that I\u2019m afraid of, I love my life. What scares me is that I may not live to see freedom… I avoid thinking about it.”<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Ihar Bancer<\/b>, political prisoner musician, who was sentenced to 1 month and 25 days in a colony for violating the open air prison rules, is back to the open air prison \u2014 his lawyer appealed the court’s decision to change the sentence to a harsher one.<\/span><\/p>\n Dissent and Cultural Activism<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n
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