Viasna’s case referred to court

November 28, BPN. The Belarusian Prosecutor General’s Office has referred to court the criminal case against Viasna’s leaders, their fellow human rights defenders say.

The head of the human rights center, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aleś Bialacki, his deputy Valancin Stefanovič and coordinator of the Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections campaign Uładzimir Łabkovič are charged with illegally smuggling cash across a Russia-led union’s border and financing public order disturbances. Human rights defender Źmicier Sałaŭjoŭ, who has fled the country, would be tried in absentia as part of the same case.

In an interview with SB.by, Investigative Committee Deputy Chairman Anatol Vasilleŭ called Viasna a “quasi-rights center” focused on monetary gain rather than advocacy.

Bialacki, Stefanovič and Łabkovič were arrested in July 2021 on tax evasion charges. The charges were dropped in September 2022, only to be followed by accusations of smuggling. Amnesty International demanded that the three should be immediately and unconditionally released.