Joint statement by Belarusian human rights organizations

Joint statement by representatives of the Belarusian human rights community

Today, 6 November 2020, the Belarus PEN Centre makes the following call for international support as the government onslaught against the pro-democracy movement continues.

Every week we receive alarming reports about the detentions of our friends – writers, journalists, and cultural workers.

In Belarus, in the post-election period, there has been a targeted pressure on freedom of expression, thought, and creativity. We draw attention to the unprecedented repressions against cultural workers and the members of Belarusian creative organizations.

We, Belarusian and international human rights organisations, are alarmed at the increasing cases of intimidation and arrests of Belarusian human rights defenders exercising their professional duties.

(New York, NY) — The detention of a member of PEN Belarus during a peaceful demonstration in Minsk Sunday represents another vicious attempt to silence cultural leaders of Belarus’ protest movement and hamper the pursuit of democracy, PEN America said today.

A court in Russia this week increased the prison sentence of Russian historian Yury Dmitriev to 13 years, just weeks before he was scheduled to be released.

Mass peaceful protests caused by the unprecedented election fraud have continued since 9 August in Minsk and throughout Belarus.