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For three years, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Ales Bialiatski has been innocently imprisoned in Belarus. On 25 September, in front of the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in Brussels (Belgium), Libereco – Partnership for Human Rights (Libereco) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) urge his release and that of all over 1,300 Belarusian political prisoners.
On the occasion of Ales Bialiatski’s 62nd birthday on 25 September, at 3:30–4:30 pm, the international human rights organisation Libereco demands the release of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and founder of the Belarusian Human Rights Centre Viasna. At the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in Brussels (Av. Molière 192, 1050 Ixelles), we will hand over more than 82,000 signatures of our petition from 82 different countries, which calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Bialiatski and all over 1,300 political prisoners.
MEPs Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Thijs Reuten, Bialiatski’s colleague and former political prisoner Leanid Sudalenka, along with representatives of several human rights organisations and the free Belarusian diaspora will speak at the demonstration. As part of Libereco’s #WeStandBYyou solidarity campaign, Strack-Zimmermann took over Bialiatski’s godparenthood and Reuten that of imprisoned journalist Ivan Murauyou.
After the public demonstration, a roundtable will be organised at the Mission of Democratic Belarus (Rue de la Science 23, 1040 Brussels) from 5:30–6:30 pm. We invite all journalists, human rights defenders, and policymakers to discuss the current situation in Belarus with Belarusian experts. Viasna representative Leanid Sudalenka and Tatsiana Khomich, sister of political prisoner Maryia Kalesnikava, will be available for interviews; translation will be provided. Please register for the roundtable here: https://forms.gle/voPaujZkbMzMw1g7A
Demonstration at the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus
When? 25 September, 3:30–4:30 pm
Where? Av. Molière 192, 1050 Ixelles, Belgium
Round table with Belarusian experts at the Mission of Democratic Belarus
When? 25 September, 5:30–6:30 pm
Where? Rue de la Science 23, 1040 Brussels, Belgium
Together with four of his Viasna colleagues, Ales Bialiatski is imprisoned in Belarus solely because of his legitimate human rights work. Since the violent crackdown on the mass protests in the wake of the rigged elections of 9 August 2020, persecution of political opponents has sharply increased in Belarus. Bialiatski has been imprisoned since 14 July 2021. He was arrested while fighting for the release of hundreds of other political prisoners. In March 2023 after trumped-up charges, he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment and a heavy fine.
In Belarusian prisons, torture and other ill-treatment are still common practices and go unpunished. The judicial system is abused to suppress critical voices, and the authorities arbitrarily make “extremism” and “terrorism” accusations against organisations in order to stop their activities and legitimise criminal prosecution. Only recently, a court in Minsk classified Libereco’s account on the social media site X (formerly Twitter) as “extremist”.
Press contacts:
- Christie Miedema, Libereco Representative in the Netherlands and Organiser, christie.miedema@libereco.org, +31642060638
- Marco Fieber, Executive Director Libereco Germany, marco.fieber@libereco.org, +491639724885
