The trial of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Byalyatski is set to begin in Belarus, where the activist faces 12 years in jail in a case that his allies see as political retribution.
Key points:
- Ales Byalyatski, 60, co-founded the Viasna-1996 group
- He’s been charged with financing protests and smuggling money
- Two other group members also face trials
The 60-year-old, who co-founded the Viasna-1996 human rights group, is one of the most-prominent of hundreds of Belarusians who were jailed during a violent crackdown on anti-government protests that erupted in the summer of 2020.
Mr Byalyatski — who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Russian rights group Memorial and Ukraine’s Centre for Civil Liberties in October — was arrested in 2021, along with two co-workers from Viasna-1996.
The trio faces seven to 12 years in jail on charges of financing protests and smuggling money.
A fourth rights defender, who fled Belarus, is being prosecuted in their absence in the same case.
Viasna-1996 took a leading role in providing legal and financial assistance to hundreds of Belarusians who were jailed during protests that flared when President Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, claimed a landslide election victory in 2020.
“The allegations against our colleagues are linked to their human rights activity, the Viasna human rights centre’s provision of help to the victims of politically motivated persecution,” the Viasna-1996 group said.
Mr Byalyatski and his colleagues have been labelled “political prisoners” by fellow rights defenders. Those rights advocates estimate there are around 1,500 political prisoners in Belarusian prisons.
Around 50,000 people have been detained for taking part in protests or criticising the authorities since 2020, they say.
The trial begins in Minsk on Thursday morning, local time.
Reuters