Belarusian writer retrospectively fined for extremism

A district court in Puchavicy, Minsk region on 3 June ruled to award a fine of BYN127.5 ($60) to Belarusian poet and writer Slavamir Adamovich over his short story, in which a panel of experts had found the ‘features of extremism,’ reports reports novychas.by.

Adamovich’s short story Never Ask Where I Come From was published in the literary supplement to the non-state newspaper Novy Chas in late 2010.

Slavamir Adamovich, 57 is a poet and activist. In the 1990s, he headed the Right Revenge organization. In 1996/97, he spent 10 months behind bars for his Russian-language poem Kill the President! In 2002, Adamovich fled to Norway where he was granted political asylum. However, he returned to Belarus in 2009. In March 2019, Slavamir Adamovich was found guilty of theft of property (fishing net, pillows, rubber boots, elk horns, etc.) and sentenced to two years of restricted freedom.