The global film community has expressed its shock and concern over the arrest of Belarusian cultural activist and human rights defender Tatsiana (Tanya) Hatsura-Yavorska. The director of the International Film Festival WATCH DOCS Belarus was arrested in Minsk on 5 April, along with several other human rights defenders.

An open letter addressed to the Belarusian authorities, the Human Rights Film Network, the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk, the European Film Academy, along with film festivals, film networks, institutions and organisations from around the world are calling for the release of Hatsura-Yavorska and the other human rights defenders deprived of their freedom.

Florencia Santucho, Human Rights Film Network board member and director of the Buenos Aires International Human Rights Film Festival, declared: "We urge the Belarusian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release our colleague Tatsiana Hatsura-Yavorska and other human rights defenders, and to end acts of judicial harassment against them." The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the International Federation for Human Rights and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), also issued an urgent appeal strongly condemning the arrests and calling for the release of Hatsura-Yavorska and the other defenders.

The text of the open letter:

We, the undersigned representatives of the Human Rights Film Network and film festivals from around the world, call upon the authorities of the Republic of Belarus to immediately and unconditionally release Tatsiana Hatsura-Yavorska, the Director of the International Film Festival WATCH DOCS Belarus and the educational NGO Zvyano, as well as other human rights defenders deprived of their freedom.

We received with utmost concern information that a criminal case is being initiated against Tatsiana Hatsura-Yavorska. We urge the government of Belarus to respect Tatsiana Hatsura-Yavorska's right to freedom of expression and personal freedom. Hatsura-Yavorska has made essential contributions to Belarusian culture and for the promotion of fundamental values that are universally shared by our global film community, of which WATCH DOCS Belarus is a member. The WATCH DOCS Belarus festival belongs to the world family of human rights film festivals - the Human Rights Film Network.

We will not forget our beloved colleague, Tatsiana.

We express our solidarity with Tatsiana's family. The list below is still open for further signatures of the film festivals, film networks, and film institutions. Those willing to sign please kindly write to freedomfortanya@gmail.com.

Human Rights Film Network

International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk

European Film Academy

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam

International Film Festival Rotterdam

Documentary Association of Europe

Marché du Film - Festival de Cannes

European Film Promotion

European Women’s Audiovisual Network (EWA)

Film Producers Association of Latvia

Institute of Documentary Film

International Documentary Association

MADOKE, Hungarian Documentary Association

Oberoende Filmares Förbund (OFF)

Scottish Documentary Institute

1905 International Human Rights Film Festival, Hong Kong

Active Vista International Human Rights Film Festival, Philippines

Bergen International Film Festival

Censurados Film Festival, Peru

Docudays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, Ukraine

Document Film Festival, Scotland

Festival de Cine y Derechos Humanos, San Sebastian

Festival del Cinema dei Diritti Umani di Napoli

Festival du Film et Forum International sur les Droits Humains (FIFDH), Switzerland

Festival Internacional de Cine de Derechos Humanos, Argentina

FiSahara (Western Sahara International Film Festival)

Freedom Film Festival, Malaysia

Human Rights Nights, Italy

International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival "Inconvenient Films”, Lithuania

International Human Rights Film Festival in Albania

Karama Beirut Human Rights Film Festival

Movies that Matter Festival, Netherlands

Muestra de Cine Internacional Memoria Verdad Justicia / International Film Festival Memory

Truth Justice, Guatemala

Muestra de Cine Social y Derechos Humanos de Asturies (MUSOC), Spain

Nepal Human Rights Film Festival

Nuremberg International Human Rights Film Festival

Red Carpet Human Rights Film Festival, Palestine

WATCH DOCS. Human Rights in Film International Film Festival, Poland

Vermont International Film Festival, USA

Verzio International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, Hungary

American Film Festival, Poland

CinéDOC Tbilisi Documentary Film Festival

FID, Festival International de Cinéma de Marseille

FIPADOC - International Documentary Festival, France

goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film, Germany

Human Rights Film Festival Berlin

Krakow Film Festival

New Horizons International Film Festival, Poland

Nordisk Panorama Film Festival

One World Romania

Tampere Film Festival

Tempo Documentary Festival, Sweden

Thessaloniki International Film Festival

When East Meets West, Italy

Visions du Réel Nyon International Film Festival, Switzerland