The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Belarus: UN rights office raises concerns over trial of Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski
The trial of Belarusian rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski is “simply politically motivated” and he should be released, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Friday.
Mr. Bialiatski, a veteran rights campaigner and founder of Viasna (or “spring”) civil society group, was arrested in July 2021 on tax evasion charges, along with two other activists, and reportedly held in dreadful conditions in a prison in Minsk. Their trial began on Thursday.
“We are gravely concerned by the trial of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski which started in Belarus on Thursday. Bialiatski faces up to 12 years in jail,” said OHCHR spokesperson Jeremy Laurence.
“Two other representatives of his Viasna Human Rights Center are also facing prison sentences. We have serious concerns about the conduct of their trial….We call for the charges against them to be dropped and their immediate release from detention.”
The appeal from the UN rights office comes amid increasing concerns about tightening legislation in Belarus that restricts civil and political rights, that have followed violent crackdowns against protesters who contested the result of presidential elections in August 2020.
Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians have reportedly left the country in the last two years, “an unprecedented number are fleeing persecution and prospects for a safe return under the current leadership grow bleaker”, said Anaïs Marin, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, in an alert last year.
Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Mr. Laurence insisted that the UN rights office was following the case closely and remained in “constant engagement” with the Belarusian authorities. “Suffice to say that we consider these to be arbitrary arrests - constitute arbitrary detention - and the charges are simply politically motivated,” he added.
In previous appeals for the release of Mr. Bialiatski, senior rights experts who report to the Human Rights Council described his arrest as “part of an unfolding policy to silence human rights defenders and eradicate the civic space in Belarus”.
Mr. Bialiatski had been carrying out “legitimate human rights work” when he was detained, the experts said, before reminding Belarusian authorities of their obligations to uphold human rights and the immediate release of all rights activists detained on politically motivated grounds.
ends
STORY: Belarus Trial Of Ales Bialiatski - OHCHRTRT: 1 min 38s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 6 January 2023, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Wide, UN Geneva flag alley.
- Wide, press room, podium speakers seated.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “We are gravely concerned by the trial of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski which started in Belarus on Thursday. Bialiatski faces up to 12 years in jail. Two other representatives of his Viasna Human Rights Center are also facing prison sentences. We have serious concerns about the conduct of their trial.”
- Medium, participant holding microphone, speaker to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The trio are among hundreds detained after a violent crackdown on anti-government protests back in 2020. We call for the charges against them to be dropped and their immediate release from detention.”
- Close, participant resting hand on chin, looking down.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Suffice to say that we consider these to be arbitrary arrests - constitute arbitrary detention - and the charges are simply politically motivated.”
- Medium, participant’s hands typing on laptop keyboard.
- Medium, podium speaker, side shot.
- Medium, participant seated behind laptop, looking at screen, then looking up.
- Close, blurred laptop screen, focus shifts to podium speaker.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The appointment on Thursday of Karla Quintana as head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic is a key development after nearly a year and a half of work by the UN Human Rights Office supporting the institution’s launch.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNICEF , UNRWA , WHO
The head of the UN migration agency stressed on Friday that Syria is in no position to take back millions of Syrians following the fall of the Assad regime, while there is an urgent need to “re-evaluate” sanctions impacting the war-ravaged country.
1
1
1
Edited News | IIIM , UNHCR
Syria: ‘Key priority’ is to preserve evidence of crimes – UN investigators
In Syria, new access to evidence of horrific human rights violations means that accountability may be closer than ever – if only proof can be preserved, a top UN investigator said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OSE , ICRC , UNHCR
Syria: UN and partners urge action to preserve evidence of prison atrocities, stabilize country
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria five days ago, hundreds of people have rushed to Saydnaya prison, desperate to find loved ones. Disturbing images from the prison and other detention centers have since surfaced, exposing the “unimaginable barbarity Syrians have endured for years,” said Jenifer Fenton, spokesperson for the UN special envoy for Syria, on Friday.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNRWA
Gaza: “Sickening normalisation” of suffering, amid attacks on people and aid convoys
Ongoing military operations by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in Gaza continue to devastate Palestinian children and families, with mounting casualties and a critical lack of humanitarian aid for the desperate population.
“Local media reporting here that last night, 30 people were killed in this area in strikes” said a senior emergency officer with the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Louise Wateridge, speaking to reporters in Geneva from central Gaza.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OHCHR
Rights experts call for end to impunity for Israel’s violations of international law
Four independent human rights experts have jointly called for the international community to sanction Israel’s conduct of hostilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as well as in the wider Middle East region - including in Syria, Lebanon and Iran. They also called for the restoration of trust in the international justice system through the abandonment of “extreme interpretations” and “double standards” in the application of the universal norms regulating the conduct of war.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNHCR
Syria: needs continue to grow amid highly uncertain situation, say aid teams
The historic power shift in Syria and the still volatile situation two days after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime have increased humanitarian needs in a country where nearly 17 million people, including millions of internally displaced, already depended on humanitarian aid before the recent events, UN aid teams said on Tuesday.
2
1
3
Edited News , Press Conferences | OSES
Barely 48 hours since opposition forces including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) swept into Damascus and forced out President Bashar al-Assad, the top UN negotiator tasked with helping Syrians’ create a peaceful and democratic future insisted that nothing could be taken for granted.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday called on States to do all in their power to end senseless conflicts and suffering.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
No evacuation order given before Kamal Adwan Hospital strike, says WHO
One of the last partially functional health centres in northern Gaza was reportedly hit again overnight into Friday by several strikes, leaving four health workers among the casualties and the dead, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA
More than 280,000 people have been uprooted in northwest Syria in a matter of days following the sudden and massive offensive into Government-controlled areas led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is sanctioned by the Security Council as a terrorist group.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has called on the Georgian authorities to respect and protect the rights to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly following several nights of protests that were marred by violence, and dispersed using disproportionate, and in some cases unnecessary, force by the police in the capital, Tbilisi.