Belarus: Release Volha Kalackaja
Volha Kalackaja
23 March 2021 – The Belarusian authorities must immediately release translator and English language tutor Volha Kalackaja, PEN International said today, as a verdict in the case is expected tomorrow.
Volha Kalackaja has translated into Belarusian the works of some of the world’s most renowned authors, including Margaret Atwood, Virginia Woolf, William Golding and Tennessee Williams. Following the presidential election of 9 August 2020, Kalackaja took part in mass protests against the widely disputed official results, which saw President Alexander Lukashenko elected to a sixth term in office. On 18 January 2021, she was giving a private tuition class at her home in Minsk, when police entered the residence and took her for questioning. She has been held in pre-trial detention since. Her trial opened in Minsk today and is due to conclude tomorrow.
Volha Kalackaja has been charged with ‘malicious hooliganism’ under Article 399 of the Belarusian Criminal Code. PEN International believes that the charges against her are disproportionate, and fears that she is being targeted for taking part in peaceful protests. Scores of writers and translators have called for her immediate release, including Margaret Atwood, the European Writers Council, the European Council of Literary Translators’ Associations and several PEN Centres.
The PEN Community stands by Volha Kalackaja and urges the Belarusian authorities to release her immediately.
PEN International featured Volha Kalackaja’s case on International Women’s Day. Her plight was further highlighted in PEN’s Annual Women Writers Committee Meeting.
For further details contact Aurélia Dondo at PEN International, Koops Mill, 162-164 Abbey Street, London, SE1 2AN, UK Tel: +44 (0) 20 7405 0338 Fax +44 (0) 20 7405 0339 e-mail: Aurelia.dondo@pen-international.org
- Archive
- View all:
- Stories related to statement
- Stories related to Belarus
- Date archive
- 2022 Julio (2)
- 2022 Junio (14)
- 2022 Mayo (6)
- 2022 Abril (12)
- 2022 Marzo (13)
- 2022 Febrero (12)
- 2022 Enero (16)
- 2021 Diciembre (9)
- 2021 Noviembre (15)
- 2021 Octubre (9)
- 2021 Septiembre (13)
- 2021 Agosto (12)
- 2021 Julio (18)
- 2021 Junio (5)
- 2021 Mayo (14)
- 2021 Abril (16)
- 2021 Marzo (18)
- 2021 Febrero (17)
- 2021 Enero (13)
-
Mostrar más