Index on Censorship 10th Annual Freedom of Expression Awards

After a year marked by large-scale student and civic protests, the authorities in Serbia began introducing more intensive legislative changes aimed at restricting freedoms and further undermining separation of powers and democratic law-making. On 17 March 2026, these issues and more were discussed at an SHDMI side event organised by YUCOM, Human Rights House Belgrade, and Human Rights House Foundation.

Human Rights House Foundation joins Belarusian and international CSOs in urging the Belarusian authorities to revoke “extremist” designations against PEN Belarus, Human Constanta, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, and other civil society groups, align extremism laws with international human rights standards, and to end the practice of designiating organisations as “extremist” without reasonable and proportional grounds. The organisations also call international civil society to show solidarity with Belarus, and urge international bodies to assess violations, press authorities to meet their obligations, and halt abusive extremist designations.

In Belarus today, even culture is not safe from state repression. Books are labeled ‘extremist,’ independent publishers are targeted, and cultural workers face detention or exile. In this interview, Belarusian poet and human rights defender Taciana Niadbaj talks to HRHF about the personal realities of working under such pressure, the emotional cost of exile, and the growing risks for those who continue cultural work inside the country. She also discusses “Belarus. Banned. Books project—an initiative documenting censorship and preserving access to banned literature—highlighting how defending cultural rights has become an essential part of defending human rights.