Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Ales Bialiatski is the hero and pride of Belarus. Forever. No one will ever take it away from him. Neither the regime, nor the judges, prosecutors, or jailers who have kept him behind bars since July 2021.
The “trial” started today against Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski and other Viasna human rights defenders – Valiantsin Stefanovich, Uladzimir Labkovich, and Dzmitry Salauyou, who is being tried in absentia. Their human rights activities have saved hundreds of Belarusians, given hope to thousands, and contributed to the future of millions, and it is these activities that they are on trial for.
Ales Bialiatski is one of the greatest people I have ever met. And the way he behaves at this “trial” confirms this yet again. He insists that the handcuffs of the human rights defenders be removed, as this insults human dignity. He insists that the proceedings be conducted in Belarusian. And once he hears a refusal, he demands a translator from Russian.
Ales Bialiatski is a man of will, a man of principles. No bars and no handcuffs can destroy his courage and free spirit. I am proud to know him personally. To have been at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. And to surely meet him in the future, when Belarus will be free. When, finally, the government will get to honor his cause not with years of imprisonment, but with lifelong respect and a well-deserved part in the true textbook of the history of Belarus”.
