Johannesburg. 24 November 2011. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation strongly denounces the sentencing of leading human rights defender, Ales Bialiatski, today in Belarus. The fabricated case against Bialiatski is a clear move by the Belarusian government to further silence civil society and opposition voices.
On 24 November 2011, the Pervomaiski District Court in Minsk sentenced Bialiatski to four and a half years imprisonment under “strict regime” conditions and the confiscation of property on charges of tax evasion. This politically motivated trial, which commenced 2 November 2011, highlights the measures that the authoritarian regime is prepared to take to stop those who do not toe the party line. This case is the latest example of the crackdown on dissent, opposition to the government and free media in a country growing increasingly isolated from Europe.
The case has shocked the international community, with many governments calling for the immediate release of three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee Bialiatski. The evidence against Bialiatski was obtained from bank accounts in Poland and Lithuania; both countries have since condemned the case, expressed dismay at the data being used against Bialiatski and have formally apologised for cooperating with the Belarusian regime.
“This is a clear case of motivated prosecution and we call for the immediate release of Ales Bialiatski,” said Ingrid Srinath, CIVICUS Secretary-General. “The unacceptable situation in Belarus where civil society freedoms continue to be denied has today taken a grave turn for the worse. We are deeply saddened that Bialiatski’s brave work to defend human rights has cost him his freedom.”
The treatment of citizens that speak out against the Belarusian government has deteriorated since the Arab Spring uprisings. The wave of “silent protests” that took place in Belarus this summer resulted in police rounding up and illegally detaining more than 700 protesters. Demonstrations against President Lukashenko’s regime involved people who clapped their hands, stomped their feet or simply smiled. A set of legal amendments passed at a closed session of parliament earlier this month now gives police formal justification for clamping down on those taking part in the protests despite the absence of any political demands.
Lukashenko said earlier this month that his government has learned the lessons of the Arab Spring uprisings that have ousted repressive regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya and knows how to deal with protests organised through social networks. “We have learned how to deal with this evil,” he said.
Although a blanket of secrecy covers much of what happens in Belarus, CIVICUS urges the international community to condemn in the strongest terms, the wrongful imprisonment of Bialiatski and other innocent civil society activists in Belarus.
