“The verdict for the Viasna activists is inhuman and cruel but predictable. This is revenge for their resilience. Revenge for their solidarity. And finally, imprisonment of the Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights is a spit in the face of the international human rights community.
I have seen photos from the trial. I have seen the eyes of Ales and others. They have no despair – they have energy and demonstrate readiness to continue the fight. They know they are doing the right thing.
Even from prison, Ales manages to draw attention to Belarus. We have seen him bring Belarus back to the agenda. He made people talk about other political prisoners. This is a great sacrifice that he made for all of us.
I wholeheartedly wish Ales Bialiatski, Uladzimir Labkovich, and Valiantsin Stefanovich to pass this test faster and without significant harm to their health. You are our heroes. We, all Belarusians, will do everything possible to end this horror as soon as possible, and never let it happen again.”
