Ales Bialiatski

Ales Viktaravich Bialiatski (Алесь Віктаравіч Бяляцкі; born 25 September 1962) is a Belarusian pro-democracy activist and prisoner of conscience known for his work with the Viasna Human Rights Centre.

In 1965, the family returned to Belarus to settle in Svietlahorsk, Gomel Region.

An activist for Belarusian independence and democracy since the early 1980s, Bialiatski is a founding member of Viasna and the Belarusian Popular Front, serving as leader of the latter from 1996 to 1999.

He is also a member of the Coordination Council of the Belarusian opposition.

He has been called "a pillar of the human rights movement in Eastern Europe" by The New York Times, and recognised as a prominent pro-democracy activist in Belarus.

Bialiatski's defence of human rights in Belarus has brought him numerous international accolades.

Bialiatski is a scholar of Belarusian literature and graduated from Homiel State University in 1984 with a degree in Russian and Belarusian Philology.

After graduation, Bialiatski worked as a schoolteacher in the Lieĺčycy District in Gomel Region.

From 1985 to 1986, he served in the army as an armoured vehicle driver in an antitank artillery battalion near Yekaterinburg (then Sverdlovsk), Russia.

Bialiatski is a member of the Union of Belarusian Writers (since 1995) and the Belarusian PEN-Centre (since 2009).

Bialiatski was Secretary of the Belarusian Popular Front (1996–1999) and deputy chairman of the BPF (1999–2001).

Bialiatski founded the Viasna Human Rights Centre in 1996.

The Minsk-based organization which was then called “Viasna-96”, was transformed into a nationwide NGO in June 1999.

Bialiatski was chairman of the Working Group of the Assembly of Democratic NGOs (2000–2004).

On 28 October 2003 the Supreme Court of Belarus cancelled the state registration of the Viasna Human Rights Centre for its role in the observation of the 2001 presidential election.

Since then, the leading Belarusian human rights organization has been working without registration.

In 2007–2016, he was vice-president of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).

Bialiatski has been imprisoned twice; firstly from 2011 to 2014, and currently since 2021, on both occasions on charges of tax evasion.

Bialiatski, as well as other human rights activists, have called the charges politically motivated.

On 3 March 2023, Bialiatski was sentenced in Minsk to ten years in prison for "cash smuggling" as well as "financing actions and groups that grossly violated public order."

Human rights activists view the charges as fabricated in order to silence Bialiatski and his movement after he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Bialiatski was born in Vyartsilya, in today's Karelia, Russia, to Belarusian parents.

His father Viktar Bialiatski is a native of the Rahačoŭ District, and his mother Nina comes from the Naroŭlia District.

On 4 August 2011, Bialiatski was arrested under charges of tax evasion (“concealment of profits on an especially large scale”, Article 243, part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus).

The indictment was made possible by financial records released by prosecutors in Lithuania and Poland.

On 24 October 2011, Bialiatski was sentenced to 4½ years in prison and confiscation of property.

Bialiatski pleaded not guilty, saying that the money had been received on his bank accounts to cover Viasna's human rights activities.

Belarusian human rights activists, as well as the European Union leaders, EU governments, and the United States said that Bialiatski was a political prisoner, calling his sentencing politically motivated.

They urged the Belarusian authorities to release the human rights activist.

On 15 September 2011 a special resolution the European Parliament called for Bialiatski's immediate release.

The activist's release was also requested by EP President Jerzy Buzek, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, OSCE Chairman Eamon Gilmore, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, Miklós Haraszti.

Several international human rights non-governmental organisations called for Bialiatski's "immediate and unconditional release".

Bialiatski served his sentence in penal colony number 2 in the city of Babruysk, working as a packer in a sewing shop.

He was repeatedly punished by the prison administration for "violation of the prison rules", and was declared a "malicious offender", which prevented him from being amnestied in 2012 and deprived him of family visits and food parcels.

During his time in prison, Bialiatski wrote many texts on literary topics, essays, memoirs, which were posted to his associates.

An unprecedented campaign of international solidarity was launched during his imprisonment.

Bialiatski was released from prison 20 months ahead of schedule on 21 June 2014 after spending 1,052 days of arbitrary detention in harsh conditions, including serving periods of solitary confinement.

The date of Bialiatski's arrest, 4 August, is celebrated annually as the International Day of Solidarity with the Civil Society of Belarus.

In 2020, he won the Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the "Alternative Nobel Prize".

In 2022, Bialiatski was awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, along with the organisations Memorial and Centre for Civil Liberties.