26/08/2024 - The director and activist is currently imprisoned in Serbia, in immediate danger of being extradited to Belarus, where he is facing imprisonment and even the possibility of the death penalty

Director Andrei Gnyot (© Belarusian Independent Film Academy)

UPDATE (26 August 2024): Tomorrow, 27 August, the Serbian Court of Appeal will hold the very final hearing of Andrei Gnyot’s case and will decide whether to extradite him or not to Belarus. Juliette Binoche, Sandra Hüller, Agnieszka Holland, Wim Wenders, Justine Triet, Arthur Harari, Yorgos Lanthimos, Cristian Mungiu, Oleh Sentsov, Margarethe von Trotta, Edward Berger, Karim Aïnouz, Béla Tarr, Jessica Hausner, Ken Loach, Jasmila Žbanić, Lukas Dhont, Isabel Coixet, Victor Kossakovsly, Alice Diop, Mélanie Laurent, Guslagie Malanda, Mark Cousins, Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren, Kirill Serebrennikov, Lambert Wilson, Nina Hoss, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Charlotte Wells, Fernando Trueba, Lars Eidinger and Jim Sheridan are among the signatories of an open letter in support of Gnyot, along with international human rights groups, which believe if extradited Gnyot will face torture, years long imprisonment and even potentially the death penalty. Read the letter here.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

-

Having been arrested by the Serbian authorities, Belarusian filmmaker and activist Andrei Gnyot is currently imprisoned in Serbia, in immediate danger of being extradited to Belarus, where he is facing imprisonment, torture and even the possibility of the death penalty. Having been alerted about his case by colleagues at the Belarusian Independent Film Academy (BIFA), the European Film Academy protests vehemently against his arrest and calls upon the Serbian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Andrei Gnyot.

The European Film Academy stands with Belarusian colleagues, declares its full and heartfelt solidarity, and joins them in their call: “The Belarusian Independent Film Academy demands that filmmaker and activist Andrei Gnyot be released from Serbian prison and not be extradited back to Belarus. In Belarus, he faces imprisonment, torture and even the death penalty. Andrei Gnyot is known for making documentary footage during the Belarus 2020 protests and recording athletes' appeals for free and fair elections. He is being prosecuted by the Belarusian regime for these activities. Andrei was arrested in Serbia because Interpol has accepted the request of the Belarusian regime to search for him. Later, Interpol cancelled the search request; however, Serbia did not release Andrei, and the danger is that he could be extradited at any moment. Andrei Gnyot is recognised by international human rights organisations as a political prisoner. The Belarusian regime continues to persecute active citizens years after the rigged presidential elections in 2020 to destroy any manifestation of dissent. Searches, arrests and torture continue unabated in Belarus. No civilised country or international organisation co-operates with Belarus in the search for and extradition of fugitive politically active Belarusians. We urge international organisations and human rights groups to appeal to the Serbian authorities to prevent the extradition of Andrei Gnyot to Belarus and to secure his immediate release. Time is of the essence; act now to save Andrei Gnyot.”

Deeply worried about his well-being, the European Film Academy calls on the Serbian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Andrei Gnyot, and encourages all film and cultural institutions around the world to do the same.