In Tallinn, Estonia, over 70 European artists and filmmakers have joined together to advocate against the extradition of filmmaker Andrei Hniot from Serbia to Belarus. Hniot, a vocal critic of the authoritarian regime in Belarus, is facing allegations of tax evasion in his home country and could potentially be subjected to imprisonment, torture, or even the death penalty if extradited.
Renowned figures such as French actress Juliette Binoche, Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich, Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov, and Ukrainian director Oleh Sentsov have signed an open letter to Serbia, urging authorities not to send Hniot back to Belarus. These signatories have personally experienced politically motivated prosecutions in the past and stand in solidarity with Hniot.
Andrei Hniot gained recognition for documenting the mass protests in Belarus following the disputed reelection of President Alexander Lukashenko in 2020 and the subsequent government crackdown. Fleeing to Serbia, Hniot was arrested by Serbian authorities based on an Interpol warrant issued at the request of Belarus for alleged tax evasion. Despite his efforts to contest the extradition, a Serbian court ruled in favor of sending him back to Belarus.
Concerns have been raised about the potential grave consequences awaiting Hniot if he is returned to Belarus, where the regime of Lukashenko is known for targeting pro-democracy activists. The use of Interpol warrants by Belarusian authorities to track down dissenters globally has been condemned as a tactic of repression.
International support for Hniot’s case has been mounting, with figures from the film industry and organizations like Amnesty International urging Serbia not to extradite him. Human rights groups in Belarus have documented tens of thousands of cases of political repression in recent years, including over a thousand individuals currently imprisoned for their activism. Tragically, some political prisoners have lost their lives while in detention in Belarus, highlighting the severity of the situation.