Tag Archives: Eastern and Western European States, USA, Canada

Prosecutor Seeks 6 Years for Kirill Serebrennikov

June 23, 2020News, Personal CaseEastern and Western European States, USA, Canada, personal case, updateACAR

The case of the “Platform” Projekt at the Gogol Center’s “Seventh Studio” Kirill Serebrennikov has been going on for more than three years (see also our former posts at ACAR). On June 22 the judicial investigation has ended. The state prosecution considered proven guilty persons involved in the case of Serebrennikov, asks to plead Kirill Serebrennikov, Alexey Malobrodsky, Yury Itin and Sophia Apfelbaum and sentence them with following punishments: 6 years of imprisonment in a penal colony with a fine of 800 thousand rubles for Serebrennikov , 5 years for Malobrodsky and 4 years for Itin and Apfelbaum as well.
At the same time the prosecution corrects the amount of damage from 133 million 237 thousand rubles to 128 million 974 thousand rubles.
The court will pass a verdict in the coming days.

The Gogol Center has published Kirill Serebrennikov’s speech at the Meshchansky court on June 22nd: Platform Lessons

Sources: Russsian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI), Russia Today (RT), Gogol Center’s Facebook page

Albanian National Theatre Demolished

May 18, 2020NewsEastern and Western European States, USA, Canada, News, updateACAR

On Sunday, May 17, the historic National Theatre in Tirana has been demolished. Since 2018, artists and citizens have staged the longest active protest in the history of Albania to protect the theatre from demolition by the government (see ACAR posts 1, 2) The government moved in amidst the emergency situation and lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus crisis. Resisting citizens, sitting in front of the theatre, were removed and detained. The Albanian National Theater is officially part of Europa Nostra’s 7 Most Endangered European Heritage Sites list for 2020.

Albania’s President Ilir Meta has called the demolition of the National Theatre by his own government “a constitutional, legal and moral crime that cannot be granted amnesty.”, done by the Mafia. The decision to demolish Albania’s National Theatre was approved in secret and was not on the agenda for the meeting of the Tirana Municipal Council.

Sources: exit news 1, 2, 3, 4; Europa Nostra, video

Yulia Tsvetkova is the Freedom of Expression Awards Arts Fellow 2020

April 29, 2020NewsEastern and Western European States, USA, Canada, News, personal case, updateACAR

The 20th Freedom of Expression Awards were held online on Thursday 16th April as a digital celebration. The Russian theater director, visual artist, and activist from Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Yulia Tsvetkova (see our posts 1, 2), has been awarded the 2020 Freedom of Expression Award Arts Fellow. Index on Censorship works with the fellows during the awarding year to provide long-term, structured support.

The other 2020 fellows are: Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei (campaigning); Turkish lawyer Veysel Ok (campaigning); 7amleh (digital activism) and OKO press (journalism).

Watch Yulia’s statement here

Fresh Arrest Warrant for Osman Kavala after Beeing Acquitted

February 18, 2020NewsEastern and Western European States, USA, Canada, News, personal case, updateACAR

Today a Turkish court acquitted Osman Kavala and other defendants – amongst them the theatre artists Ayşe Pınar Alabora and Memet Ali Alaborafollowing – following a controversial trial over the anti-government “Gezi Park” protests of 2013. Kavala and two other defendants had been facing life sentences without parole. Kavala, founder of Anadolu Kultur, was arrested in Istanbul on 18 October 2017 (see ACAR posts Nov. 21, 2017 and Nov 2, 2018), followed by a wave of solidarity from artists and human rights activists. In December, the European Court of Human Rights called for his immediate release, saying there was a lack of reasonable suspicion that he had committed an offence.

Only few hours later Istanbul prosecutors have issued a new arrest warrant for Osman Kavala for his alleged ties to a failed 2016 coup.

Sources: Middle East Eye , T24, Deutsche Welle

Visa restricted for Algerian ITI Delegation

January 17, 2020UncategorizedEastern and Western European States, USA, Canada, personal caseACAR

Our colleague, the director, festival director and president of the Algerian Centre of the International Theatre Institute, Mr. Okbaoui Cheikh , was refused a visa by the Austrian Embassy in Algeria in December. The reason given to him and his 9 colleagues – Bezia Cheddad, scenographer,; Smaani Arazki, actor; Fellag Malek, actor; Kerdous Jedjiga, actress; Boutchiche Hamadache, actor; Kessir Sofiane, actor; Slimani, Samia, actress; Belayel Rayel, actor; and Sahnoune Kamel, actor – who had been invited to a conference of the International University Global Theater Experience (IUGTE) at Schloss Laubegg/Ragnitz, was that they did not have the means of subsistence and the intended return. They received the refusal of visas one day before the intended journey and had already transferred 50% of the conference fees as intended.
Okbaoui Cheikh has been representing the Algerian ITI centre at numerous international meetings of the ITI for many years and successfully directs a renowned theatre group as well as an international festival.

In a letter to the Austrian embassy ACAR pointed out: “It should be known that artists in non-European countries often work under comparatively precarious conditions, sometimes earning their living with several jobs, as many artistic professions are not officially recognized. Unfortunately, especially younger artists are often affected by restrictions on mobility, as they often have neither a secure income nor have started their own families.
Mr. Okbaoui Cheikh has been issued over 15 visas in recent years and his reliability in terms of compliance with travel conditions should be beyond any doubt.
We would urge you to review and revise the visa decision urgently.”

The State of Artistic Freedom in Europe

January 8, 2020NewsEastern and Western European States, USA, Canada, News, updateACAR

At the European Parliament in Brussels, on January 21st, Freemuse in collaboration with Culture Action Europe is launching its first European report on the state of artistic freedom. The report first of its kind, outlines the emerging trends found to be particularly challenging in Europe in relation to freedom of artistic expression. Freemuse has documented 380 cases of violations to the right of freedom of artistic expression in Europe from January 2018 until October 2019. At the launch, concrete actions and recommendations will be proposed to the European Parliament ensuring that the right to artistic expression is not only better protected but also crucially better promoted across the continent.

Download the report (64 pages, pdf) from Freemuse.org