Nobel Peace Prize Winner: Ales Byaljazki – a man of conviction

He has dedicated his life to documenting arrests, raids, violence against demonstrators, torture in prisons. And now he’s in prison himself – again: the Belarusian human rights activist Ales Byaljazki.

Ales Byaljazki is a man of conviction. Even as a student he was fighting against abuses in his own country, which at the time was still part of the Soviet Union. He campaigned for more democracy and founded the human rights organization Viasna in 1996.

He and his team document human rights violations and support political prisoners and their families. A troublemaker and a nuisance – from the point of view of the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko, who has his judiciary take action against the organization. Offices and private homes are searched and computers confiscated.

“All these years not in vain”

Byaljatzki was sentenced to four and a half years in prison in 2011 for alleged tax evasion. As difficult as the time is, he cannot be broken, cannot be defeated. “I know that all these years have not been in vain. We have done everything right. Our society is going in the direction we want it to be,” he says in December 2020 in his calm, determined way.

At this point, week after week, day after day, people took to the streets to protest against Lukashenko’s political despotism. Viasna documents arrests, raids, the use of force against peaceful demonstrators, and torture in prisons. Until those involved are arrested themselves.

Byaljazki is also back in prison. But giving up is not and will not remain an option for the 60-year-old: “I’m not tired yet. I will continue as long as my moral and physical strength lasts.”