Our House Appeals to Cultural Organizations over Skrepetsky’s Murder
ICHRI «Our House» Appeals to Cultural Organizations, Calling for a Response to the Murder of Artist Semyon Skrepetsky
The Belarusian human rights organisation Our House (Nash Dom), currently operating in exile in Lithuania, has appealed to international cultural and artistic freedom organisations, calling for a response to the murder of Russian artist, political cartoonist, and political émigré Semyon Skrepetsky, also known as Robert Kuzovkov.
Skrepetsky was shot dead on 15 June 2026 in Biała Podlaska, Poland. He was known for his political and satirical cartoons addressing war, authoritarianism, militarism, political violence, corruption, and human rights abuses. Our House stresses that, regardless of political disagreements or differing views on his work, Skrepetsky represented an independent artistic voice exercising the fundamental right to freedom of artistic expression.
In its appeal, Our House warns that the killing of an artist in exile on European soil raises concerns far beyond a single criminal case. The organisation argues that the case touches upon the safety of artists, cultural workers, political cartoonists, journalists, human rights defenders, migrants, refugees, and political exiles who continue to speak publicly despite serious risks.
According to publicly available information cited by Our House, Skrepetsky had reportedly received threats before his death. It has also been reported that the Ukrainian website Myrotvorets published information concerning his place of residence after including him on its list of alleged enemies. Our House underlines that it is not aware of any publicly available evidence connecting the website to the murder itself and insists that such conclusions must be based only on a professional investigation. At the same time, the organisation says that publishing personal and residential data of artists and political émigrés creates obvious security risks and requires serious legal and human rights scrutiny.
Particular concern was also expressed over reports that, after Skrepetsky’s death, his profile on the Myrotvorets website was marked as «liquidated». Our House argues that such language in relation to a murdered artist contributes to the normalization of political violence and reflects a dangerous climate of hostility toward people engaged in public criticism and artistic expression.
Our House is calling on cultural and human rights organisations to issue public statements, raise awareness of the case, and urge the Polish authorities to ensure a prompt, thorough, independent, transparent, and effective investigation. The organisation also calls on the competent Ukrainian authorities to assess the publication of Skrepetsky’s personal data and to evaluate whether such practices put targeted individuals at risk.
The appeal also highlights the increasingly precarious situation of artists and cultural workers living in exile, especially those from Belarus, Russia, and other authoritarian states. Our House says that stronger cooperation between human rights organisations and artistic freedom organisations is urgently needed to protect artists who face threats because of their work, public positions, or criticism of war, authoritarianism, and political violence.
«The murder of an artist must never become an ordinary or forgotten event», the organisation states, emphasizing that the case has not yet received the level of international attention that its seriousness warrants.
Below is the text of the letter:
For many years, our organisation has worked to protect human rights, support civil society actors at risk, and document cases of political persecution affecting activists, journalists, artists, and cultural workers from authoritarian contexts.
In recent years, together with our partners at August Cultural Media Lab, we have also been working with artists and cultural practitioners in exile, including individuals who have experienced political repression, forced displacement, censorship, and threats because of their artistic or civic engagement. Through this work, we increasingly observe how artists in exile remain vulnerable not only to repression originating from their countries of origin but also to various forms of intimidation, public targeting, and insecurity within Europe itself.
It is in this context that we would like to draw your urgent attention to the killing of Russian artist, political cartoonist, and political émigré Semyon Skrepetsky (also known as Robert Kuzovkov), who was shot dead on 15 June 2026 in Biała Podlaska, Poland.
Additional information about the case can be found here:
https://ndbelarus.com/2026/06/16/russian-artist-and-cartoonist-semyon-skrepetsky-who-criticized-war-and-dictatorships-shot-dead-in-poland/
Semyon Skrepetsky was widely known for his political and satirical cartoons addressing war, authoritarianism, militarism, political violence, corruption, and human rights abuses. Regardless of political views or disagreements with his positions, he represented an independent artistic voice exercising the fundamental right to freedom of artistic expression.
The killing of an artist in exile on European soil raises concerns that go far beyond a single criminal case. It touches upon the safety of artists, cultural workers, political cartoonists, journalists, human rights defenders, migrants, refugees, and political exiles who continue to engage in public expression despite significant risks.
According to publicly available information, Semyon Skrepetsky had reportedly received threats prior to his death. It has also been reported that the Ukrainian website Myrotvorets published information concerning his place of residence after including him on its list of alleged enemies because of his public statements and criticism of certain political actors.
At present, we are not aware of any publicly available evidence connecting the Myrotvorets website to the murder itself, and we believe that such conclusions should only be made on the basis of a professional investigation. However, the publication of personal data and residential information of artists and political émigrés creates obvious security risks and deserves serious legal and human rights scrutiny.
Particularly alarming is the fact that following his death, Semyon Skrepetsky’s profile on the Myrotvorets website was reportedly marked as “liquidated.” Regardless of who is ultimately responsible for the killing, such language in relation to a murdered artist raises profound concerns about the normalization of political violence and the climate of hostility facing individuals engaged in public criticism and artistic expression.
https://myrotvorets.center/criminal/?cf%5Bname%5D=Роберт+Кузовков
We are therefore reaching out to Freemuse because of your unique role as a leading international organisation defending artistic freedom and the safety of artists worldwide.
We respectfully ask you to consider:
- Issuing a public statement expressing concern regarding the killing of Semyon Skrepetsky and reaffirming the importance of protecting artists from threats, intimidation, doxxing, and violence.
- Raising awareness of this case among your partners, networks, and relevant international stakeholders so that it does not disappear from public attention.
- Calling on the Polish authorities to ensure a prompt, thorough, independent, transparent, and effective investigation and to identify not only any direct perpetrator but also any possible organisers, accomplices, or instigators.
- Encouraging the competent Ukrainian authorities to assess the publication of Semyon Skrepetsky’s personal data and residential information on the Myrotvorets website and to evaluate whether such practices create risks to the safety of targeted individuals.
- Drawing the attention of European and international institutions to the increasingly precarious situation of artists and cultural workers living in exile, particularly those originating from Belarus, Russia, and other authoritarian contexts who continue to engage in public artistic and political expression.
- Supporting broader discussions on strengthening protection mechanisms for artists in exile who may face threats because of their artistic work, public positions, or criticism of war, authoritarianism, and political violence.
We would also welcome the opportunity to exchange information and discuss possible cooperation on issues related to the protection of artists and cultural workers in exile. While our resources are limited and there is always more work to be done, we believe that stronger cooperation between human rights and artistic freedom organisations is increasingly necessary in the current environment.
The murder of an artist must never become an ordinary or forgotten event. We are concerned that this case has not yet received the level of international attention that its seriousness warrants. For this reason, we hope that Freemuse may help ensure that the circumstances of this killing receive proper scrutiny and that the broader implications for artistic freedom and the safety of artists in exile are not overlooked.
We remain available to provide additional information, public sources, and documentation related to this case.
Thank you for your attention and for your continued work defending artistic freedom worldwide.
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