PEN America Recognizes the Courage and Activism of Nobel Peace Prize Winners in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus
“Living under a government determined to break the will of even its most stalwart critics, Bialiatski has fought for human rights unflinchingly for decades, sacrificing his freedom, safety, and… More
PEN America Condemns Sentencing of Belarusian Journalists
“The ongoing targeting of journalists, including, prolonging sentences, and the general atmosphere of repression in Belarus are an urgent cause for international concern,” said Polina Sadovskaya, director of Eurasia… More
Detailing Severe Human Rights Abuses in Belarus, Leaders Call on the UN Human Rights Council to Extend the Mandate of the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Belarus
In Taped Reading, Author Margaret Atwood Reads Letter from her Belarusian Translator About the Arrests and Jailing of Writers, Journalists and Publishers By Suzanne Trimel (NEW YORK)-- The severe deterioration of… More
PEN America Condemns Sentencing of Belarusian Philosopher Uladzimir Mackievic to Five Years in a Penal Colony After Closed-Door Hearing
“With each individual detained and incarcerated for their protests against Lukashenka, we see how the situation in Belarus deteriorates and grows more dire,” said Polina Sadovskaya, director of Eurasia… More
Truth-Telling And Its Dire Consequences: PEN America Hosts Conversation with Writers Targeted by Authoritarians Around the Globe
The difficult plight of writers living under authoritarian rule has been well-documented over decades, with some enduring impossibly harsh treatment for their truth-telling and resistance to repression. More
Uladzimir Matskevich
Uladzimir Matskevich is a prominent philosopher who writes about public consciousness in politics. He was arrested on August 4, 2021 in a home raid and has been detained in… More
Valeria Kostyugova
Political analyst and writer Valeria Kostyugova is an editor of the online expert community Our Opinion and its annual publication Belarusian Yearbook. She has written about Belarusian-Russian politics for… More
Ales Bialacki
Ales Bialacki is a writer, literary critic, and head of the prominent human rights organization Viasna. On July 14, 2021, Bialacki was arrested on feigned “tax evasion” charges, which… More
Alexander Feduta
Literary intellectual and PEN Belarus member Feduta was arrested in April 2021 in Moscow and quickly extradited to Belarus on “suspicion of committing a crime.” On September 5, 2022,… More