Lecture on "Vladimir Neklyaev: Poet, Political Prisoner & Presidential Candidate of Belarus"

Event information
Start:
End:
Venue:FIU - MMC - Green Library - GL 220

ImageLecture on "Vladimir Neklyaev: Poet, Political Prisoner & Presidential Candidate of Belarus"

Vladimir Neklyaev is a Belarusian poet and 2010 Belarus Presidential candidate. Declared an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience in, 2011, Mr. Neklyaev founded and led a civic campaign called “Tell the Truth!” an organization dedicated to exposing the dictatorial nature of the Belarusian regime and revealing the truth about political, economical, and social issues facing the county. As a result of these actions, Mr. Neklaev was arrested multiple times and was tried and convicted of “Organizing activities that disrupt the public order”, and sentenced to two years of house arrest. On election night in December 2010, Mr. Neklaev and other protestors were confronted by black clad police who fired stun grenades and severely beat them. Mr. Neklaev was taken to the hospital for treatment and then kidnapped from the hospital by the KGB and was charged with “Organization of mass riots”. He was tortured and eventually suffered a stroke while in detention for 2 years. Finally, as the European Union was preparing to adopt a package of sanctions against the Belarusian leadership and deny entry to President Alexander Lukashenko and dozens of other Belarusian officials for detaining opposition activists, the authorities released Mr. Neklyaev in July 2013 in attempt to improve EU-Belarus relations. Having been awarded the Jerzy Giedroyc Award ‎for the best prose in Belarussian in 2013,he continues to be active in politics and writing.


To view flyer, click here