Belarusian Court Sentences Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Ales Bialiatski to 10 Years in Prison

court Belarus sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison Ales Bialiatskyco-winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize and a leading figure in the democratic movement in this repressed former Soviet republic.

The human rights organization Viasna (Spring) clarified that two other activists tried together with Byalyatsky, Valentin Stefanovich and Vladimir Labkovich, received sentences of nine and seven years in prison, respectively.

The fourth defendant Dmitry Solovyov, who was tried in absentia after fleeing to Poland, was sentenced to eight years in prison. All of them were also sentenced to a fine of about $70,000.

The activists were imprisoned after historic demonstrations against the controversial 2020 re-election of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to a sixth term.

“These heinous sentences are revenge for the protection of human rights. This is a political order that comes from the top of this dictatorial power,” Solovyov told AFP.

Bialiatsky60, and other activists were accused of funding “activities that seriously disrupt public order,” according to the NGO.

Arrested in July 2021, Bialiatsky The following year, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for human rights, along with the Russian organization Memorial and the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties.

This activist founded and ran for several years Viasnaya, the main human rights group in this authoritarian country, which since 1994 has been led by an adamant Lukashenka.

During the 2020 demonstrations NGOs played a key role in documenting the crackdown and arrests of protesters.

“Shameful Injustice”

opposition leader BelorussianSvetlana Tizhanovskaya called the verdict “shameful injustice.”

“We must do everything possible to fight this shameful injustice,” he wrote on Twitter.

Press Secretary of the High Commissioner UN For Human rights called for an end to the “persecution” of opponents in Belarus.

German minister foreign affairsAnnalena Babok called the trial a “farce” and noted that they were convicted for “commitment to the rights, dignity and freedom of people in Belarus.”

And the Prime Minister of Poland called the verdict “outrageous.”

During the trial, three activists pleaded not guilty.

Bialiatski has already spent almost three years in prison in Belarus between 2011 and 2014 after being convicted in another case that was deemed political.

Until March 1, Belarus According to Viasna, there were 1,461 political prisoners in it.

Western countries have approved various sanctions packages against Belarus for cracking down on the 2020 protests, but the regime continues to enjoy unwavering Russian support.

In its turn, Belarus agreed to serve as a rear base for Russian troops in the conflict in Ukraine. But so far, the Belarusian army has not directly participated in the hostilities.

Cascade of judgments

In addition to the lawsuit against Bialiatsky there are others open against the activists of the democratic movement in Belarus.

A prominent opposition figure, Tizhanovskaya, who lives in exile, and several of his accomplices are currently being tried in absentia.

Also on trial are several imprisoned journalists from Tut.by, the main independent media in Belarus. They face a number of accusations such as tax evasion and hate speech. In 2021, the network was considered “extremist”.

In February, the journalist and activist were sentenced to eight years in prison. Andrzej Poczobut.

In mid-February, the trial of three founders of the opposition media outlet Nexta, which played a significant role in the 2020 protests, began.

Two of them are tried in absentia; third, Roman Protasevichwas forcibly returned to Belarus in May 2021. (AFP)