International Society Memorial demands freedom for Ales’ Bialiatski!
Declaration of the International Society “Memorial”
One month ago, Ales Bialiatski, the human rights activist, the leader of the Human Rights Center Viasna, our friend and colleague, was arrested in the Republic of Belarus.
Formally, he is charged with overseas bank account tax evasion. However, it is clear for any reasonable person, that it is the human rights activity that he has been arrested for, that the money from his bank account has been spent for the legal and material support of political prisoners and their families.
The covering of the political repressions under a disguise of criminal accusation is a typical method of repressive regimes. Ales Bialiatski is not accused of the defense of political prisoners, but that he used a bank account opened in a foreign country, to finance his organization and to defense the rights of the Belarusian citizens.
The repressive regime of the Republic of Belarus introduced numerous laws, illegal in their essence, that permit the Belarusian authorities to deny a legal status of the independent public organizations. According to these laws, the activity of non-registered organizations would be considered as illegal and, therefore, criminal.
The Human Rights Center Viasna was closed by the authorities in 2004, yet Ales Bialiatski and his colleagues kept continuing the monitoring of the human rights situation in the region and providing support for the victims of political repressions. This has been of especial importance after the events of December 2010. And that was the reason why Ales Bialiatski himself became a victim of political repressions.
The International Society Memorial demands from the authorities of the Republic of Belarus the immediate discharge of Ales Bialiatski and the cessation of the criminal case.
The International Society Memorial demands from the authorities of the Republic of Belarus the discharge of all political prisoners.
The International Society Memorial demands from the authorities of the Russian Federation to make all possible efforts to attain the discharge of Ales Bialiatski and all political prisoners in the Republic of Belarus.
5 September 2011
