PEN Belarus has learned that on 7 September 2026, the Central District Court of Minsk designated the following book as “extremist materials”:
- Marc Levy, Noa, trans. from French by Ekaterina Cherezova (Moscow: Inostranka, Azbuka-Atticus, 2023)
Noa by Marc Levy is the final installment in the “Group 9” trilogy, which follows a team of hackers exposing corruption and crimes committed by powerful figures. This time, the story centres on an authoritarian state, political prisoners, and an attempt to free an opposition activist. Part of the novel is set in Belarus, with recognisable locations and realities including Minsk and the Akrescina detention centre. The protagonists confront repression, surveillance, and a system in which dissent can lead to imprisonment.
It can be assumed that this recognisability may have been one of the reasons why the book was banned in Belarus. Although the novel is a work of fiction, the dictatorship it depicts has distinctly Belarusian features: political prisoners, Akrescina, the persecution of government opponents, and resistance to a repressive system. Given that book bans in Belarus are also used as a tool of political and ideological censorship, such a storyline was unlikely to escape the authorities’ attention.
We remind you that the inclusion in the “National List of Extremist Materials” carries severe legal consequences, including administrative liability for producing, publishing, possessing, or transporting the banned book. In practice, the scope of “prohibited acts” is applied excessively broadly. Sanctions range from heavy fines to administrative arrest, creating a powerful deterrent for authors, publishers, and readers.
You can read more in detail about the legal assessment here.
We will continue to document every violation of cultural rights so that evidence of these repressions is preserved for history and for future legal accountability.