Artists urge Serbia not to extradite to Belarus a critic of its authoritarian regime

TALLINN, Estonia — More than 70 European artists and film directors have signed an open letter urging Serbia not to extradite to Belarus a filmmaker and a prominent critic of the authoritarian government in Minsk, who is wanted in his home country for alleged tax evasion. Among those who signed the letter are French actress and president of the European Film Academy Juliette Binoche, Belarusian Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich, Russian theater and film director Kirill Serebrennikov and Ukrainian director Oleh Sentsov, both previously prosecuted in Russia — Belarus’ close ally — on charges widely seen as politically motivated. Serbian authorities arrested Hniot last year on Oct. 30 at Belgrade airport, based on an Interpol warrant issued at the request of the Belarusian authorities for alleged tax evasion, and a court ruled to extradite the film director to Belarus. The letter in his support said that requesting an Interpol warrant is “a tactic repeatedly used by the Lukashenko regime to track down pro-democracy activists around the world.” “It is illegal under international law to send someone to a country where they will most certainly face torture,” said Volia Chajkouskaya, a co-founder of the Belarusian Independent Film Academy and one of the organizers of a campaign in Hniot’s support.