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Editor of the Belarusian Radio and Electronic Industry Workers’ Union (REP)’s bulletin, Vacłaŭ Areška was arrested on 19 April 2022 alongside several independent trade union leaders, as the Belarusian authorities intensified their crackdown on civil society following the fraudulent presidential elections of August 2020. On 11 April 2022, REP was declared ‘extremist’ by the authorities and promptly banned. Areška stood accused of ‘incitement of measures of a restrictive nature (sanctions) and other actions aimed at causing harm to the national security of Belarus’’ (Article 361 of the Belarusian Criminal Code), ‘creation of an extremist group or participation in it’ (Article 361.1), and ‘incitement to racial, national or religious hatred or discord’ (Article 130).

His trial opened in Minsk on 25 November 2022. He was found guilty on 5 January 2023 and sentenced to eight years in prison. The Supreme Court of Belarus upheld the verdict on 3 April 2023. Areška was added to the country’s list of ‘extremists’ on 5 May 2023. His eyesight seriously deteriorated in detention due to being denied access to adequate healthcare; he is now reportedly blind. He is also said to suffer from high blood pressure and problems with his back and legs. Human rights organisations – including PEN Belarus – have repeatedly urged his release on humanitarian grounds. He is currently being held in a medium-security penal colony in Ivacevičy, southwestern Belarus, in conditions that amount to torture and other ill-treatment.

Areška’s case is emblematic of the relentless crackdown on independent voices unleashed by the Belarusian authorities since August 2020. Despite releases from prison in 2025 and 2026 following negotiations aimed at lifting economic sanctions, many Belarusian writers continue to be deprived of their liberty on politically motivated grounds. At least 115 cultural figures, including 19 writers and other literary professionals, remain imprisoned or under house arrest at the time of writing. Releases have taken place alongside new arrests and the opening of criminal cases on spurious grounds. Many cultural figures forcibly expelled from Belarus and released into exile, had their passports confiscated or remain on the Belarusian authorities’ lists of ‘extremists’ and ‘terrorists’. At the same time, the number of banned books has risen to at least 390. As documented by PEN Belarus, the banning of books has evolved into a systematic and deliberate policy aimed at suppressing dissent and establishing full control over the information space.

Born on 18 January 1955, Vacłaŭ Areška graduated from the Belarusian State Academy of Arts with a major in theatre studies. He taught at the Belarusian State Academy of Arts and translated works of the Belarusian Baroque from the Old Polish language. His texts were published in several magazines including Spadchyna, Arche and pARTisan. In March 2026, PEN Belarus launched a global campaign in support of Areška. Materials are available here.