Svetlana ALEXIEVICH

In August 2020, Svetlana Alexievich became a member of the Coordination Council for the Transfer of Power. On 20 August 2020, the Belarus Prosecutor General laid charges under Article 361 of the Belarussian Criminal Code – appeal to overthrow or change the constitutional order of the Republic of Belarus or to carry out crimes against the government – against members of the Coordination Council, including Alexievich. This carries a maximum three-year prison sentence, increased to five years if the act is carried out through ‘mass media’. On 26 August 2020, she was questioned at the Investigative Committee building in Minsk, telling the press as she left that she had refused to cooperate. On 9 September 2020, Alexievich reported that unidentified men had attempted to enter her home. This led to several diplomats from European embassies in Minsk staging a 24-hour vigil at her home to protect her from attack. Alexievich left Belarus for Germany later that month, pledging to return once the political situation allows. The case against her was still pending as of 31 December 2024.  

 Alexievich’s name and books were removed from the school curriculum in Belarus in August 2021. According to PEN Belarus, libraries across the country removed her books from circulation in June 2023.  

Svetlana Alexievich, born on 31 May 1948, is a world-renowned author, translated into numerous languages, and has won numerous international awards, including the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature. She is a former president of PEN Belarus.