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“We call upon the power of art to disturb the sleep of conscience” – The artists manifesto

Join us on December 19th to mark a year a since Lukashenko’s vicious crackdown on dissent and political opposition in Belarus. On this day a year ago around 50,000 Belarusians gathered peacefully to demonstrate against the unfair election. They were met with violent oppression.

Around 2,000 people were arrested and detained en masse in Minsk. There are still 16 political prisoners who are kept under appalling conditions and are routinely tortured. Two of these are presidential candidates Andrei Sannikov and Nicolai Statkevich.

We will gather outside the Belarusian Embassy (6 Kensington Court, Kensington London, W8 5DL) at 4.30pm and together with British artists will deliver an artists’ manifesto signed by, amongst others, Tom Stoppard, Eric Fischl and Sam West calling for the immediate release of all detained political prisoners.

The demonstration will follow a press launch of the artists’ manifesto at the Serpentine Gallery.

On Monday, 28 March, at 6pm Jude Law will perform alongside the Belarus Free Theatre in the Grand Committee Room of the House of Commons – the first time in recent history the dissident theatre company has done so inside a working chamber of a Western Parliament. Sir Tom Stoppard will introduce the event.

The event is in association with free expression charity Index on Censorship, Free Belarus Now and the Belarus Committee and supported by the Young Vic and Almeida theatres. Denis Macshane MP, Pamela Nash MP and John Whittingdale MP are hosting the event.

At 5pm – protesters will gather outside PR company Grayling with Jude Law and the Belarus Free Theatre to highlight the company’s continued business within Belarus. Protesters will meet here at http://goo.gl/zRpW7.

For press enquires please contact Mike Harris on 0207 324 2534 / 07974 838468; mike@indexoncensorship.org. Natalia Koliada, the co-founder of the Belarus Free Theatre; Irina Bogdanova, the sister of imprisoned presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov; Sir Tom Stoppard; and representatives of Index on Censorship, H20 Law representing the families of those detained, the Young Vic and Almeida Theatres will all be available for interview.

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