Minsk ∙ Belarus’ prominent human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatsky (60) was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The crime is to provide financial and legal support to anti-government protests. Three other leaders of the human rights movement ‘Viasna’ founded by Bialiatsky were also among those convicted.
Bialiatsky and other leaders were arrested during the 2020 national uprising against President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year while in prison. Bialiatsi and three other accused were presented in iron cages in the courtroom.
Opposition leader in exile Svetlana Sikhanovskaya responded by saying that the sentence was shocking and that she would give Bialiatsky all the support he needs to fight injustice. Ales Bialiatsky, also a lawyer, was one of the leaders of the pro-democracy movement that emerged in Belarus during Soviet rule in the mid-1980s.
English Summary: Belarus court jails Nobel Peace Prize winner Bialiatski for 10 years