Ales Bialiatski questioned in Viasna case

Ales Bialiatski, chairman of the Human Rights Center “Viasna”, has been questioned as a witness in what is known as the “Viasna case”, a criminal investigation into the organization’s alleged involvement in the financing of the 2020 post-election protests.

The four-hour interrogation is part of a criminal case under Part 2 of Art. 342 of the Criminal Code (training or other preparation of persons for participation in group actions that grossly violate public order).

Bialiatski was initially summoned to the Investigative Committee’s Minsk office on Wednesday, April 5, but the questioning was postponed after the human rights activist demanded that the questions be asked in Belarusian.

“Unfortunately, the Belarusian language of interrogation cannot correct the greatest injustice – the criminal case against members of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" and dozens of searches and interrogations as part of the case. For several months now, my friends, human rights activists, have been illegally imprisoned, while the case itself has a clear political connotation,” Bialiatski said after the questioning.

Earlier, the Investigative Committee questioned several dozen Viasna activists across the country. All of them were forbidden to comment on the case under threat of criminal prosecution.