July 12, Pozirk. Nobel Peace Prize winner Aleś Bialiacki, convicted in Belarus in a politically-motivated case, must be released immediately and unconditionally, Amnesty International has said in a statement.
“As we prepare to mark three years since the detention of Aleś Bialiacki and his colleagues, we remain deeply concerned about their wellbeing,” noted Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. “We request they are granted immediate access to adequate healthcare and their lawyers and relatives.”
Belarusian authorities targeted rights defenders for exercising and protecting the rights to freedom of expression and association, she added.
The charges of smuggling and financing protests are “baseless,” while the guilty verdicts “represent a grave miscarriage of justice,” abusing the criminal justice system to stifle dissent and suppress civil society in Belarus, Struthers said.
In March 2023, Bialacki was sentenced to 10 years in prison in connection with his advocacy work, his associates Valancin Stefanovič and Uładzimir Łabkovič, to nine and seven years in prison, respectively.
