– The Norwegian Helsinki Committee is not surprised, but just as shocked by the cynicism behind the sentences that have just been handed down in Minsk to our Belarusian friends – says Secretary General Berit Lindeman about the sentences passed on Nobel laureate Ales Byalyatski and his colleagues Valancin Stefanowicz and Uladzimir Labkowicz .
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Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski and his associates Valancin Stefanowicz and Uladzimir Labkowicz were sentenced to 10, 9 and 7 years in prison, respectively. The three men have been in custody for more than a year and a half. They've gone through a process that meets all the criteria for a farce. The case is a bunch of false accusations. This has its roots in the help the three men gave to protesters who were victims of the worst forms of violence. This took place during the mass arrests following Alexander Lukashenko's defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
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Fight for democracy and free all political prisoners
- The sentence has nothing to do with criminal law. It should be treated as a direct order for the judge from Lukashenko, says Lindeman.
“We call on the international community to work with Belarusian civil society and the country's elected officials, such as exiled President Svetlana Cichanouska, in their fight for democracy as well as for the release of all political prisoners,” says Lindeman.
The Norwegian Helsinki Committee has been cooperating with Bialacki and his organization Wiasna for many years. Already in 2006, the Helsinki Committee awarded him the Andrei Sakharov for his courageous and tireless fight for human rights in Belarus.
Also read the joint statement by many human rights organizations
What can you do for Ales Bialiatski and his friends from Viasna?
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Photo: Wiasna/Aleś Bialjacki in court on January 5, 2023.
Source: Norwegian Helsinki Committee
