The jewel of the Belarusian human rights work has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison. Press release from the Norwegian Helsinki Committee.
Ales Bialiatski, the head of the well-known human rights organization Viasna in Belarus this morning sentenced to four and a half years in prison and confiscation of property for tax evasion.
-This verdict is a
shame for Europe, and we must all stand together in our condemnation of the
regime in Belarus, said NHC Secretary General Bjørn Engesland. - European
leaders, including the Norwegian government, must demand the immediate release
of Bialiatski.
Viasna is Belarus'
main human rights organization, and is known to have provided legal and material
assistance to the victims of the regime's abuses. The organization has been the
main source of information about the human rights violations that for years have
intensified in what is called 'Europe's last dictatorship'. As a reprisal for
their work, Viasna has for years been denied registration and their activities
have been forced underground.
Bialiatski, head of
Viasna, was forced to open accounts abroad. This was the only way the work could
be continued, with financial support from among others the Norwegian Helsinki
Committee. Belarusian authorities got access to information about Bialiatskis
bank account in the bank DnB NORD in Vilnius with the assistance of Lithuanian
authorities, which Lithuania now has apologized strongly.
-Ales is the jewel in the Belarusian human rights work, and no one
can quite fill his role, says head of information Berit Lindeman. -We know that
Viasna’s employees will continue the work, and we stand together with them in
demanding the release of Ales and other political prisoners in Belarus. Among
them, we find another of our partners and friends, former presidential candidate
Andrei Sannikov, who has been imprisoned nearly a year under torture-like
conditions.
Ales Bialiatski received the Norwegian Helsinki Committee's award Andrei Sakharov Freedom Award in 2006 and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize several times. The Norwegian Helsinki Committee’s employees were denied entry to Belarus to monitor the trial.
