Andrei Hniot, who is wanted in Belarus for alleged tax evasion, could face severe persecution, including imprisonment, torture, or even the death penalty if returned. More than 70 European artists and film directors have signed an open letter urging Serbia not to extradite a Belarusian filmmaker who is a vocal critic of Aleksandr Lukashenko's authoritarian government in Minsk. The filmmaker, Andrei Hniot, is wanted in Belarus for alleged tax evasion, but the letter warns that he could face imprisonment, torture, or even the if sent back.
Signatories of the letter include French actress , Belarusian Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich, Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov, Ukrainian director and Polish director . Hniot is a prominent Belarusian film director and an outspoken critic of the country's President Alexander Lukashenko. He filmed mass protests that erupted in 2020 against Lukashenko’s disputed reelection, and covered the harsh crackdown on dissent the government unleashed in response, before fleeing the country to Serbia.
He was arrested in Serbia last October based on an Interpol warrant requested by Belarus. Despite contesting his extradition in court, a final appeal is scheduled for Tuesday. Hniot claims the Belarusian government is targeting him for his activism against the regime’s human rights abuses and election fraud.
“We openly opposed the dictatorship, human rights violations, and electoral fraud in Belarus in 2020,” Hniot has said. The letter in hi.
