Right Livelihood has urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to demand the immediate release of Ales Bialiatski, 2020 Right Livelihood Laureate and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, and his colleagues at the Human Rights Center “Viasna“, who remain unjustly imprisoned in Belarus.
Delivering an oral statement at the 59th session of the Human Rights Council, our Advocacy Trainee Cristina Donoso condemned the Belarusian government’s ongoing crackdown on civil society, which continues to target human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers, and anyone associated with the 2020 protests.
“We are deeply concerned that members of Viasna remain behind bars in inhumane and degrading conditions,” Cristina said. “Among them are Ales Bialiatski, Valentin Stefanovich, Valiantsin Labkovich, and Maria Rabkova, all imprisoned solely for their legitimate human rights work.”
The scale of repression in Belarus is staggering. Since 2020:
- 6,990+ people have been convicted on politically motivated charges
- 33+ individuals have been subjected to forced psychiatric treatment
- Families of political prisoners are facing reprisals
- Communication with relatives and lawyers is being weaponised as punishment
Right Livelihood called on the Council to intensify pressure on the Belarusian authorities:
“As the human rights crisis in Belarus deepens, we call on the Council to urge the government to release all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally, and to end its assault on civil society.”
We stand in solidarity with Viasna, whose members have spent decades advancing human rights in the face of brutal repression.
