This event, as well as accompanying advocacy meetings in Brussels, reinforced joint recommendations from HRHF and partners to the EU and Member States. These include continued support to journalists, human rights defenders, cultural workers, and political prisoners in Belarus, including those in exile, and continued backing for international accountability and monitoring. With the 61st UN Human Rights Council session underway, HRHF stressed the importance of renewing and adequately resourcing the mandates of the UN Special Rapporteur on Belarus and the Group of Independent Experts.
The evening featured the screening of Under the Grey Sky (2024), directed by Mara Tamkovich, Board Member of the Belarusian Independent Film Academy (BIFA), followed by a discussion with the director, Yauheni Pylchanka (Belarusian Association of Journalists) and Taciana Niadbaj (PEN Belarus), Chair of the Belarusian Human Rights House. H.E. Michał Mazur, Representative of the Republic of Poland to the Political and Security Committee, and Deren Derya, Head of Division, EURCA EAST 2, European External Action Service, delivered welcome remarks at the event.
Under the Grey Sky, inspired by real events, portrays Belarusian journalists targeted during the 2020 protests and the human cost of repression, alongside the resilience of independent voices. The film draws on the case of Belsat TV journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva (Bakhvalava), detained while reporting on the 2020 protests and later sentenced to eight years and three months in prison, alongside the widening campaign against those who document repression. Her husband, journalist Ihar (Igor) Ilyash, is also imprisoned, in a country where at least 28 media workers are behind bars and at least 146 cultural figures (including at least 30 writers) were reported as “not free” as of February 2026. Just on 26 February 2026, lengthy prison sentences were handed down by a court in Belarus to two prominent regional journalists, Uladzimir Yanukevich and Andrei Pakalenka, who were found guilty on charges of ‘high treason’ and sentenced respectively to 14 and 12 years in prison.
The discussion underlined the importance of artistic freedom of expression and the important role of independent journalists and cultural workers, including writers and filmmakers. These voices often act as human rights defenders, documenting abuses and challenging authoritarian narratives in an increasingly closed environment.
Top photo: Under the Grey Sky (2024), directed by Mara Tamkovich.
 and the Belarusian Human Rights House (BHRH), co-organised a film screening and policy discussion in Brussels dedicated to freedom of expression, media freedom, and the situation of journalists and political prisoners in Belarus. The event was hosted by the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to the European Union.&redirect_uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2F){kind=link}