Ales Bialiatski released from prison today

Human rights defender, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Civil Rights Defender of the Year Awardee Ales Bialiatski was among those freed from a Belarusian prison today.  

Civil Rights Defenders celebrates the release of 123 political prisoners in Belarus on 13 December. Among those freed are Ales Bialiatski, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and founder of the Viasna Human Rights Centre, Valiantsin Stefanovich (the release of Valiantsin Stefanovic has not been confirmed. The information is being verified), former vice-president of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), lawyer Uladzimir Labkovich and opposition activist Maria Kolesnikova. All have spent more than four years behind bars for their tireless work defending human rights and working for democracy.

“The release of Ales Bialiatski and other leading human rights defenders is a moment of great relief, and we celebrate with them and their families and colleagues. However, it does not erase years of injustice. These brave individuals were imprisoned simply for defending fundamental rights. While we greatly welcome their freedom, more than a thousand other political prisoners remain behind bars in Belarus. The international community must keep up the pressure until every political prisoner is released and the repression ends,” says Zinaida Muradova, Eurasia Director, Civil Rights Defenders.

This release, made possible after an agreement with the U.S. government on lifting sanctions on the country, is a long-overdue step. However, the forced transfer of these individuals directly from detention to countries outside Belarus raises serious concerns. These political prisoners should never have been jailed in the first place, and their freedom must come without conditions or coercion.

Imprisoned for several years on trumped-up charges

Ales Bialiatski was sentenced on 3 March 2023 to 10 years in prison. He was convicted of bringing money into the country to finance the so-called “illegal activities” of civil society, a sentence which both human rights organisations and other countries’ governments believe to be in retaliation for his democracy and human rights work.

In 2011, Ales Bialiatski was sentenced to four and a half years in prison after he was accused of tax evasion. He was imprisoned for almost three years before being released on amnesty in 2014. In July 2021, Ales Bialiatski was arrested again.

Repression in Belarus

Today, there are still 1213 political prisoners in Belarus, including Marfa Rabkova, human rights activist and coordinator of Viasna’s Volunteer Service.

Civil Rights Defenders calls on the Belarusian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all remaining political prisoners and to end their persecution of those who stand up for human rights.

Civil Rights Defenders of the Year Award 2014 

In 2014, Ales Bialiatski was awarded our annual Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award. Since 2013, Civil Rights Defenders has presented the Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award each year to a human rights defender or organisation that, despite great risks to their own security, continues to fight for human rights to be recognised and respected.