Nobel laureate to spend 10 years behind bars

A court in Minsk sentenced Nobel Prize winner Ales Bialiatski to 10 years in prison.

The human rights activist was accused of tax evasion, smuggling and disturbing public order. As the investigation established, even after the liquidation of the Viasna human rights center in 2003 (by a court decision), Byalyatsky continued its activities.

Three colleagues of Ales Bialiatski were also convicted and received prison terms ranging from 7 to 9 years. One of them was tried in absentia. None of the defendants pleaded guilty. In closing remarks, the defendants called the trial “politically motivated, having nothing to do with justice.”

Of the four lawyers who defended the employees of the human rights center, one was under investigation, and two had their licenses revoked. The volume of the case is unprecedented – 238 volumes.

Recall that in 2022, as our publication wrote, Ales Byalyatsky became a laureate Nobel Peace Prize together with human rights activists from Russia and Ukraine – the Russian society “Memorial” and the Ukrainian “Center for Civil Liberties”. The Nobel Committee emphasized that they demonstrate the importance of civil society for peace and democracy.

Yan Rachinsky, chairman of the Russian “Memorial”, called the awarding of the prize to human rights activists from three countries symbolic. This shows, he believes, that state borders should not divide civil society.