In 1996 Belarusian PEN Centre became a member of The Writers in Prison Committee established in 1960 by the Assembly of Delegates of PEN International in response to increasing attempts to silence voices of dissent by imprisoning writers and journalists.
During last years some of Belarusian PEN centre members were political prisoners: Ales Bialiatski, Uladzimir Nyaklyayeu, Pavel Seviaryniets, Aliaksandr Fiaduta.
See more information about political prisoners in Belarus on the web-site of the Human Rights Centre “Viasna”: spring96.org