{"id":117256,"date":"2024-12-08T18:44:14","date_gmt":"2024-12-08T15:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/117256\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"belarusian-pen-176-artists-behind-bars-in-politically-motivated-cases","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/117256\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarusian PEN: 176 artists behind bars in politically-motivated cases"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (penbelarus.org)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

December 8, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> At least 176 artists, including 39 authors, had been held in prisons or open-type correctional facilities in politically-motivated cases as of late November, according to a recent report by the Belarusian PEN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PEN’s report noted the trial of musician and architect Alaksiej Silenka, the sentence on protest-related charges to museum worker Alaksandar Nikicin and a new criminal case against jailed journalist and writer Ihar Karniej, who is accused of disobeying prison authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report confirmed the arrest and detention of married artists Ludmi\u0142a \u0160\u010damialova and Ihar Ryma\u0161e\u016dski.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last month, the information ministry compiled a list of printed publications that allegedly harm “national interests.\u201d Even though LGBTQ content is not banned in Belarus, some books featuring these themes disappeared from the bookstores, including A Little Life<\/em> and The People in the Trees <\/em>by Hanya Yanagihara, The Song of Achilles <\/em>by Madeline Miller and Giovanni’s Room <\/em>by James Baldwin, the report noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many Belarusian artists fell victim to the politically-motivated crackdown that has been continuing unabated since the 2020 political crisis in the country. Many resigned in protest and had to flee Belarus fearing persecution, as most of the actors of the Janka Kupa\u0142a theater did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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