Bialiatski should be set free, says OSCE Chairperson

Submitted by admin on Sun, 01/29/2012 - 21:35

DUBLIN, 24 January 2012 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Eamon Gilmore, expressed regret today that prominent Belarusian human rights defender Aliaksandr (Ales) Bialiatski was not freed on appeal.

“A person should not be prosecuted for protecting human rights. This case is an unfortunate reflection of the state of human rights in Belarus and a result of the restrictions imposed on freedom of association in the country,” he said. “I urge the Belarusian authorities to immediately release Ales Bialiatski and all other civil society activists, and political opponents.”

Bialiatski,  Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Head of the Belarusian Human Rights Centre “Viasna”, was convicted on 24 November 2011 on tax evasion charges and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in an enhanced regime detention camp, with property confiscation.

“The continued erosion of human rights in the country is very worrying. By persecuting human rights defenders and limiting the freedom of association, Belarus is falling short of its OSCE commitments,” said the OSCE Chairperson.

Original sourse: http://www.osce.org/cio/87183

News of Belarus

The website charter97.org announced winners of the National Human Rights Award 2014

Submitted by admin on Tue, 12/30/2014 - 21:00

This year's winners of the Viktar Ivashkevich National Human Rights Award are:

Vasil Parfiankou

The life of Vasil Parfiankou is a demonstration of how dissidents are treated in Belarus. Parfiankou has been jailed three times in the last four years for his active citizenship.

Belarussian political prisoners need European Parliament support

Submitted by admin on Wed, 07/02/2014 - 00:00

Today, on the occasion of the visit of Ales Bialiatski, a recently released political activist and Chairman of the Belarus Human Rights Centre "Viasna", Petras Auštrevičius MEP (Liberal Movement, Lithuania) and Hans Van Baalen MEP (VVD, Netherlands) commented:

Prominent Belarusian Rights Activist Released

Submitted by admin on Sat, 06/21/2014 - 00:00

Prominent Belarusian human rights activist Ales Byalyatski has arrived in Minsk after he was released from prison.

He was welcomed at a Minsk train station by his wife Natalya Pinchuk and a group of supporters on June 21.

Byalyatski told reporters he was released under an amnesty law that came into force on June 21. The rights activist also that the domestic and international support he had received heped in getting him released early.