August 17th, 2011
1 Summerhall, Edinburgh EH9 1QH
Please join Index on Censorship’s Mike Harris in conversation with Natalia Koliada, artistic director of the Belarus Free Theatre and spokesperson for Free Belarus Now.
Tags: Tags: Belarus, Belarus Free Theatre, dictator, natalia koliada,
March 30th, 2011
After a performance in the House of Commons in support of Belarus’s imprisoned opposition activists and journalists, Denis MacShane warns the leaders of Europe’s last dictatorship that justice plays a long game
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Tags: Tags: Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus, Belarus Free Theatre, Denis MacShane, Jude Law, Parliament, UK,
March 28th, 2011
Belarusian people are living under “an iron fist in an iron glove,” said Sir Tom Stoppard on the Radio 4 Today programme, after presenting a special commendation to prisoners of conscience in Belarus at the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards 2011
March 9th, 2011
The families of political prisoners detained in Belarus after the 19 December election have instructed a London law firm to launch civil proceedings against the country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko. This is the first time that a serving president has faced a private prosecution for torture in a UK Court. If the case is successful, any financial assets held by Lukashenko in Britain, or abroad, may be frozen to provide compensation. London firm H20 Law will represent Free Belarus Now, a coalition of friends, families and supporters, of the victims of political repression in Belarus. (more…)Tags: Tags: Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus, Belarus Free Theatre,
March 6th, 2011
Influential US and British actors and musicians including Oscar winners Kevin Spacey and Kelvin Kline, the Pet Shop Boys, Jude Law, Sienna Miller, Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Tom Stoppard and Samuel West, have been put on a “blacklist” of artists banned in Belarus. A list apparently drawn up by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus has been leaked to leading opposition figures including website Charter97. Sources inside State TV have not denied the blacklist is in force. Jude Law, Sienna Miller, Sir Ian McKellen and Samuel West have all been added to the list after they performed at an Index on Censorship event at the Young Vic with dissident theatre group the Belarus Free Theatre on 5 December last year. Kevin Kline and Kevin Spacey took part in a benefit for the company in New York, and recorded YouTube messages in support of free expression in Belarus (http://www.youtube.com/user/belarusfreetheatre#p/u). Sir Tom Stoppard has supported the Belarus Free Theatre for many years and has been a vocal opponent of President Lukashenko’s authoritarian rule. Currently, the secret police (KGB) has an arrest warrant out for Belarus Free Theatre co-founder Nikolai Khalezin. The official government position is that such a list does not exist. The head of the internet media department of the Belarusian Information Ministry, Vladimir Yadrintsev, told RIA Novosti that reports of the blacklist were “a clear provocation.” He added: “The Information Ministry did not initiate this”.Tags: Tags: Belarus Free Theatre,
December 29th, 2010
Nikolai Khalezin in hiding after the KGB issue arrest warrant for the co-founder of the Belarus Free Theatre. Mike Harris reports
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Tags: Tags: Belarus, Belarus Free Theatre, election, Natalia Radzina, Nikolai Khalezin,
December 20th, 2010
Index on Censorship has learned that Natalia Koliada, a founder member of the Belarus Free Theatre, has been detained by authorities in Minsk. Koliada has been unable to contact other members of the dissident theatre group. Tens of thousands of people have gathered in the Belarusian capital’s Independence Square to protest the result of the presidential election, which incumbent Alexander Lukashenko claims to have won with 79 per cent of the vote.Tags: Tags: Belarus, Belarus Free Theatre,
August 20th, 2010
Index on Censorship presents…
Go East! Sun 29 Aug
Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club, E2 6NB
7pm ’til late
Belarus Free Theatre * Comedy: Miriam Elia, The Fix * DJs from Panik.com
A day and night of cabaret, comedy and DJs, with a performance from the sensational underground Belarus Free Theatre!
Join Index on Censorship, the UK’s leading freedom of expression organisation, and the Belarus Free Theatre at the Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club, for a packed night of cabaret, comedy from Sony award short listed Miriam Elia and The Fix – and all-night mischief. Come and see a mischievous mix of Belarusian funk DJs, live music, cabaret and comedians – all for the exceptionally brave people who dare to speak up, and challenge Belarus’s dictator Lukashenko.
24 hours left to get £5 tickets:
http://go-east.eventbrite.com/
The multi-award winning Belarus Free Theatre, banned in their native Belarus, is renowned for staging underground and uncensored performances that draw attention to the continuing problems faced by Belarusians in “Europe’s last dictatorship”. Their recent performances, including at the Soho Theatre, London and the Under the Radar Festival, New York, have won widespread acclaim. On July 13 the troop performed a rendition of ‘Numbers’ in an event hosted by Index on Censorship and presented by Tom Stoppard at the Free Word Centre in London.
Confirmed DJs: Panik, Mr. Chips, DJ Perry Stroika and the Tblisi Sound Machine & DJ Gaz Nost.
Tags: Tags: Belarus Free Theatre, freedom of expression, Index on Censorship,
