Саша Филипенко. Фото: facebook.com/sasha.filipenko.9
A new criminal case has been opened in Belarus against writer Aliaksandr Filipenka (Sasha Filipenko). He reported this on his Facebook page.
According to him, a search was carried out at his home on the morning of February 5, after which it became known that a case had been opened under Part 2 of Article 361 of the Criminal Code of Belarus (“calls for actions aimed at harming national security”). The grounds cited were his interview on the YouTube channel “Ordinary Morning”.
“Before, I only had different books — now I have different criminal articles. Another search was carried out at my home today. This time, a case has been opened under Article 361, Part 2. Suspect Filipenko Aliaksandr Aliaksandravich, repeatedly, using the internet, gave an interview entitled ‘Banned Books in Belarus: Why You Can’t Read the Novels of Sasha Filipenko or How to Read Them Anyway?’ on the ‘Ordinary Morning’ channel… You’re not mistaken — under the new article I’m facing another 5–7 years for talking about my own books. Before, book covers listed Prizes and Awards; now they can list articles of the Criminal Code,” he wrote.
It should be recalled that the opening of the first criminal case became known in February 2024. Searches were carried out at the Minsk home of the writer’s father, who was also summoned to the police. In February last year, Sasha Filipenko said the case concerned Article 130 — “incitement of racial, national, religious or other social hatred or discord”.
Sasha Filipenko is a Belarusian writer who writes in Russian, whose novels have been translated into 16 European languages. He was born in Minsk and is 41 years old. Filipenko has actively spoken out against the Lukashenka regime and the war in Ukraine unleashed by Putin. In 2020, he was forced to leave for the West and currently lives with his family in Switzerland.
In Belarus, the sale of his books “Red Cross” and “The Elephant” was banned, after which they were declared “extremist materials”.