“Bialiatski’s Case” presented in Minsk

“Bialiatski’s Case” presented in Minsk

The Minsk-based Ў gallery hosted yestreday the presentation of a book entitled “Bialiatski’s Case”, a documentary novel by journalist Valer Kalinouski.

The event was attended by Ales Bialiatski’s relatives and colleagues, as well as prominent human rights defenders, political and cultural figures.

The author of the book, journalist of Radio Liberty’s Belarus Service Valer Kalinouski, said that the edition had several objectives.

“I wanted to show the political nature of the trial of Bialiatski, to tell about the personality of Ales, to describe the human rights movement, and to show our Belarus of today. I knew Ales as an active politician, writer; but having gone deeper into his life, I felt even more respect for him. Hopefully when he gets out of prison, we will become friends,” said the journalist.

The author wrote the book “collectively”, seeking interviews and advice from colleagues and associates of Ales, as well as those who once were helped by Bialiatski in protecting their rights.

It is no coincidence that the presentation was attended by former political prisoners and their relatives, who said words of gratitude to Ales personally and the Human Rights Center “Viasna”.

Former presidential candidate Aliaksandr Kazulin said: “I do not attend many events these days, but l just could not miss this one... The whole point of prison is to break a person. But there are people who cannot be broken. These are the people who have a “pin”. Bialiatski has one. We are fortunate that in this difficult time we see the light and see hope.”

Human rights defender Hary Pahaniayla noted that despite the fact that the government is constantly seeking to humiliate and intimidate civil and political leaders, human rights defenders – all this only hardens them.

“The more we are under pressure, the stronger we are. Neither prison nor humiliation can scare us. As an experienced human rights defender, I understand that what happened to Bialiatski was to happen sooner or later. The authorities just couldn’t pass such a smart human rights defender. Therefore, we can only envy how bravely Ales faced the bad news. We understand that today Ales is in prison, but the entire human rights community feels more consolidated than it did two years ago. The authorities must be mistaken when thinking that by doing so they can destroy our unity,” said the human rights defender.

Photo by www.belapan.by