Jiří Stránský

Who is Jiří Stránský?

Jiří Stránský is a Czech author, playwright, translator, former political prisoner of the communist regime, and human rights advocate. He is grandson of Czechoslovak politician Jan Malypetr.

In 1953 he was arrested by the communists and sentenced to eight years of forced labor for "treason". He was released in 1960. In 1974 he was arrested again, charged with embezzlement and sentenced to another 3,5 years, but was released after one and a half. While imprisoned, he met with several Catholic writers, an experience which encouraged him to become a writer.

After the fall of the communist regime, he has been an author and head of the international section of the Czech Literary Fund. In 1992, he was elected President of the Czech section of International PEN. He was chairman of the council of the National Library from 1995 to 1998.

He is a founding signatory of the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism.