Civil Rights Defenders declare Ales Bialiatski Defender of the Year 2014

Ales Bialiatski , founder of the Belarusian human rights organisation Viasna, is the recipient of the 2014 Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award. For over 30 years, he has pursued a life of continuous struggle to campaign for democracy and human rights, first in the Soviet Union and then in Belarus.

Ales is one of eleven political prisoners in Belarus, sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for tax evasion in a trial with clear political overtones. He was arrested on 4 August 2011. Since then he has been imprisoned and prevented from communicating freely with the outside world. Being the head of the country’s leading human rights organisation Viasna Ales Bialiatski is a central figure in Belarusian civil society.

Valiantsin Stefanovich is vice president of Viasna:
“It is important for Ales to receive this recognition. He is a strong and warm person who is extremely passionate about democracy and human rights. An external show of support like this award, goes a long way to strengthening both him and all of us at Viasna and also provides the inspiration to continue to fight for a democratic Belarus. Only with pressure from the outside world can we bring about long lasting change. It was really exciting for me to write the letter to Ales and tell him about the prize. Unfortunately I do not know if the letter arrived as we have not yet received a response,” said Valiantsin.

Since the establishment of Viasna in 1996, Ales has been arrested over 20 times. Many of these arrests have been for minor infringements such as handing out copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“The trial of Ales Bialiatski was initiated despite international protests and demands for his release. The process of prosecuting Ales was directly linked to his human rights work and the verdict serves as a warning to the entire Belarusian civil society”, says Robert Hårdh, Director of Civil Rights Defenders.

According to those who have been in contact with him, Ales, maintains his indomniable spirit but is showing signs of deteriorating health. According to Valiantsin Stefanovitj, Belarusian prisoners are frequently exposed to torture and degrading treatment.

Ales has previously been honored with several other awards, including the Swedish Per Anger Prize, The Sakharov and Homo Homini prize. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize twice, in 2006 and 2007. His colleague Tatsiana Revjaka and his wife Natalia Pinchuk will come to Stockholm to receive the prize on his behalf.

The Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award is given out on April 4, which is the anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. The award is given to coincide with Civil Rights Defenders’ annual conference Defenders’ Days when human rights defenders from around the world gather in Stockholm. Ales’ wife Natalia Pinchuk and colleague Tatsiana Revjaka are in Stockholm to recieve the award on his behalf.

Benedicte Berner, Acting Chair of Civil Rights Defenders’ Board, talks about Ales Bialiatski

For more information on Ales Bialiatski and the current situation in Belarus

Watch a short film with Ales’ wife and colleagues

To book interviews with Ales’ wife Natalia or his colleague Tatsiana, please contact:
Natasha Jevtic Esbjörnson, 076 576 27 62 , natasha.esbjornson@civilrightsdefenders.org