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
The PEN Pod: On the Arrest of Raman Pratasevich and Free Speech on Social Media
“This disturbing trend of reaching across borders to nab people that regimes see as a threat. . . [is] a new demonstration of how far these governments are willing… More
Belarus Approaches Another Undemocratic Election, as Arts and Culture Remains Underground
The courageous Belarusian artists and writers who continue to tell their stories, and to speak the truth, must not be ignored. More
PEN America Joins Belarusian PEN in Condemning Arrests of Writers
"The Belarusian authorities' recent actions underscore their blatant disregard for the rule of law and the fundamental free expression rights of Belarusian citizens." More
PEN America Joins Belarusian PEN Center in Protest of Conviction of Poet Uladzimir Niakliaeu
PEN America stands in solidarity with our colleagues in Belarus as they face yet another encroachment on their free expression rights. More
Journalists, Booksellers Among Activists Arrested in Belarus Ahead of Protests
The violent detention of journalists, literary figures, and activists by authorities in Belarus ahead of planned demonstrations is an effort to silence voices of opposition and a violation of… More
Belarusians Protest New Labor Law That Punishes Independent Writers and Artists
Belarussians take to the streets to protest a newly introduced law meant to tax those not involved in state enterprises, which activists say is meant to target independent writers… More
Belarusian PEN Center: The Struggle for Writers’ Independence
Introducing our new series showcasing the work of the over 140 centers that form PEN International. This month we speak to the Belarusian PEN Center on free expression challenges… More
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Today, POMED and 19 other rights orgs sent an open letter to @SecBlinken and @JakeSullivan46 urging them not to provide $300 million in FY2021 military aid to #Egypt in light of the country's failure to meet human rights conditions.
https://pomed.org/joint-letter-biden-administration-should-not-provide-military-aid-to-egypt-in-light-of-egregious-human-rights-violations/
Our next #BookDefenders event, How to Effectively Fight Against Book Bans, is happening on Wed Aug 17th at 8pm ET featuring @alainaskeys from @diversebooks, @jzfriedman from @penamerica, Christine Emeran and more ! Sign-up now at https://secure.everyaction.com/Q3z2V7PtwUiwOUTvuWuQAA2
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"What’s important is to stand up for the children who don’t have any voices. Even if you’re not in a county like Walton County... we all have to... start speaking out. We can’t leave it to marginalized groups to speak out. We all have to speak out"—Illustrator Marla Frazee
