As the third anniversary of Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski’s imprisonment approaches on July 14, concerns about his health are escalating. Bialiatski, the Chairperson of the Human Rights Centre Viasna, has reportedly seen a rapid decline in his health since his incarceration. Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Marie Struthers, expressed deep concerns and reiterated the call for his immediate and unconditional release.
“We are deeply worried about Ales Bialiatski and his colleagues as we approach this significant date,” Struthers stated. “We urgently request their immediate release and demand they receive access to necessary healthcare, as well as their lawyers and families.”
In May 2023, Bialiatski was transferred to penal colony No. 9 in Horki. The administration there has refused to accept medical parcels from his family, further endangering his already fragile health, worsened by a previous politically motivated imprisonment.
“Ales and his colleagues were punished for their legitimate human rights work,” Struthers continued. “The charges against them, including smuggling and financing activities disrupting public order, are baseless. Their imprisonment is a grave injustice and a misuse of the legal system to silence dissent in Belarus.”
Background
Ales Bialiatski was arrested on July 14, 2021, along with Viasna’s deputy chairperson, Valiantsin Stefanovich, and the organization’s lawyer, Uladzimir Labkovich. Their arrests followed their efforts to document abuses by Belarusian authorities during and after the 2020 protests against disputed presidential election results. Viasna, Belarus’s largest human rights group, has played a crucial role in exposing the government’s severe crackdown, including arbitrary arrests, torture, ill-treatment, and unfair trials.
