Along with PEN International, CEATL strongly condemns the entirely unjustified and unlawful arrests of the Belarus translators Hanna Komar, Uladzimir Liankievic and Siarzh Miadzvedzeu.
Komar, Liankievic and Miadzvedzeu have been arrested and administratively imprisoned for participating in peaceful demonstrations in Minsk. Engaging peacefully in the kind of mass protests we see unfolding in Belarus right now is of course a human right and, incidentally, fully legal according to the current Belarus constitution. And yet, Komar, Miadzvedzeu and Liankievic are in prison. We all know why. They are in prison because the Belarus regime under President Aleksandr Lukashenko is cracking down on the voices of independent civil society in Belarus. The voices of translators, writers and journalists.
This targeted harassment of our fellow translators in Belarus is part of one of the most comprehensive and sinister attacks on freedom of speech and civil society in Europe. CEATL joins the international condemnation of the arrests and the repression and urges its national member organizations across Europe to help maintain a public focus on the flagrant violations of human rights in Belarus.
Read more about the background here (https://pen-international NULL.org/news/pen-international-centres-condemn-arrest-of-belarus-pen-members-and-employees)