Assembly of Delegates of PEN International, meeting virtually at its 87th World Congress, 20 to 25 September 2021 Mass and largely peaceful protests have swept Belarus since the disputed presidential elections of 9 August 2020, which saw Aliaksandr Lukašenka [Alexander Lukashenko] return to a sixth term in office. [1] Protests have been – and continue to Read more about Resolution on Belarus[…]
On January 31, mass processions and meetings took place throughout Russia. People of different generations, views and political sympathies came out onto the streets. Among them were those who wanted, primarily, to support Alexei Navalny, and those who came out, first and foremost, against lawlessness and arbitrariness. These people – whatever differences in their views Read more about PEN Moscow and Free Word Association Statement[…]
A remarkable Belarusian poet, laureate of the Russian Prize Dmitry Strocev suddenly disappeared in Minsk yesterday. And today, twenty hours later, it turned out that he is being kept in detention on Akrestsin Street, in the same isolation centre, where the security forces beat, humiliated, intimidated peaceful protesters. Kidnapping, illegal detention, refusal to provide connection Read more about Statement of PEN Moscow and The Free Word Association[…]
A neighboring country, to which we are blood-related, shouts in two languages: Belarusian and Russian. About the totally falsified election. About the exiled and imprisoned candidates. About thousands of Belarus residents, who have been beaten, humiliated, and thrown into detention centers. And, in fact, about the coup d’etat. We cannot but respond to this outcry. Read more about Joint statement of PEN Moscow, The Free Word Association and St. Petersburg PEN Club[…]
November 6, 2019 The Russian authorities should drop all charges against Svetlana Prokopyeva, PEN International and PEN Moscow said today, as the journalist is facing a lengthy prison sentence for ‘justifying terrorism’ following comments she made on a radio show. The organisations further call on the Russian authorities to stop harassing and intimidating journalists who Read more about Groundless charges against journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva should be dropped[…]
The Russian authorities must uphold Yuri Dmitriev’s right to a fair and impartial trial, PEN International and St Petersburg PEN said today, ahead of a verdict expected by the end of the year. Yuri Dmitriev, historian and head of the Karelian branch of the human rights centre Memorial, North-Western Russia, stands accused of sexual abuse Read more about Fair trial must be guaranteed for Memorial historian and human rights activist Yuri Dmitriev[…]
UN Human Rights Council 38th Special Session Item 3: Interactive Dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Mr President, PEN International, ARTICLE 19 and Reporters Without Borders are deeply concerned by continuous restrictions on peaceful assembly in Russia, the operating environment for nongovernmental organisations Read more about UN Human Rights Council oral statement on freedom of association and peaceful assembly in Russia[…]
Keeping Score at the 2018 World Cup: Reporting on the dark side of Russia Since 1992, 58 journalists have been murdered in Russia, the majority with total impunity. Today, football teams from around the world will congregate in Russia for the 2018 World Cup. To mark the start of the tournament, PEN International is launching Read more about PEN International: Keeping Score at the 2018 World Cup[…]
Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov sentenced to 20 years in Russian prison and seen as a political prisoner by Memorial organization, holds an infinite hunger strike demanding to free all Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia. People who know him are sure that he will stand to the end. We demand that Sentsov be sent to his Read more about Save Oleg Sentsov![…]
The Free Word Association is among 52 international and Russian NGOs, which jointly condemned the blocking of the messaging service Telegram and a large-scale attack on freedom of expression on the Internet undertaken by Russian authorities. For more details, see here.
“Free Word” Association is outraged by the dispersal of peaceful street protests, the right to which is guaranteed by Article 31 of the Russian Constitution. In many cities across the country, unjustified violence was applied to demonstrators, including youngsters; the data on injuries and fractures keep coming. Among the victims are our colleagues, the journalists Read more about Statement of the ‘Free Word’ Association <br>On applying violence against demonstrators and journalists during protests on May 5[…]
March 15, 2018 The Free Word Association expresses solidarity with the women journalists from TV Rain radio station, BBC and other media who suffered from humiliation and harassment from Leonid Slutsky, a deputy of the RF State Duma. We consider any disrespectful behaviour towards a female journalist performing her responsibilities to be a direct violation Read more about Free Word Association Statement on Violation of the Rights of Our Fellow Female Journalists[…]
Joint Statement of the Free Word Association, PEN St. Petersburg and Masters of Literary Translation Guild On the Decision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to terminate the activities of the British Council in the Russian Federation March 19, 2018 Russia terminates the activities of the British Council, an organization which has been working in Read more about On the Decision to terminate the activities of the British Council in the Russian Federation[…]
June 23, 2017 As it became known from the mass media and human rights organizations, a writer, publicist, journalist Stanislav Aseyev (known under the pseudonym Stanislav Vasin) disappeared in Donetsk. Stanislav Aseyev is an author of journalist essays and reportages from Donetsk published in a number of Ukrainian media: “Український тиждень”, “Украинская правда” and “Зеркало Read more about Free Word Association in support of Stanislav Aseyev[…]
We, members of the ‘Free Word Association’ – writers, journalists, cultural activists, and scientists – are extremely concerned about the threats aimed at our colleagues, the journalists of ‘Novaya Gazeta’, which published materials on mass detentions, tortures and extrajudicial reprisals of citizens in Chechnya. We believe that the threateningly aggressive reaction to journalistic work, made public on April 3 at a many- thousand gathering in the Central Mosque of Grozny, is unacceptable in a civilized society and should be evaluated in view of the Russian law. The lack of proper response from law enforcement services and the country’s leadership has entailed yet another threat, this time to journalists of the ‘Echo of Moscow’ radio station who stood up for their colleagues from ‘Novaya Gazeta’.
