Jiří Stránský is a Czech author, playwright, translator, former political prisoner

Political prisoner

According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....

 of the communist regime, and human rights

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

 advocate.

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 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

Velvet Revolution

The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...

, 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

International PEN

PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....

. 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

Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism

The Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism , which was signed on 3 June 2008, was a declaration signed by prominent European politicians, former political prisoners and historians, including past signatories of Charter 77 such as Václav Havel, which called for condemnation of and...

.

Works

• Za plotem, psáno ve vězení (1953–1960), published 1999
• Štěstí, 1969, most copies were confiscated and destroyed by the communists, it was released in 1990
• Zdivočelá země, 1970, made into a film in 1997
• Aukce, 1997, sequal Zdivočelé země, 1989
• Přelet, 2001
• Povídačky pro moje slunce, 2002
• Tichá pošta, 2002
• Povídačky pro Klárku, 2004
• Perlorodky, 2005
• Srdcerváč, 2005
• Stařec a smrt, 2007

Films based on his work

• Bumerang, 1996, directed by Hynek Bočan
• Zdivočelá země, 1997
• Zdivočelá země, series 1997–2001, directed by Hynek Bočan
• Uniforma, 2001, directed by Hynek Bočan
• Žabák, 2001, directed by Hynek Bočan
• Kousek nebe
  Kousek nebe
  Kousek nebe is a Czech romance film directed by Petr Nikolaev. It was released in 2005.-Cast:* Jakub Doubrava - Lubos* Tatiana Pauhofová - Dana * Petr Forman - Bruno* Ondrej Vetchý - Rusnák* Pavel Zednícek - Roubal...
  
  , 2005, directed by Petr Nikolaev