By Florian Wiedemann | Program Manager
Ales Bialiatski is one of the most renowned human rights activists in Belarus. He has fought tirelessly against the Belarusian regime for decades and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. Due to his activism, he spent more than seven years in prison before being released and deported from Belarus in December 2025.
Ales Bialiatski has firsthand experience with the Belarusian penal system and has witnessed political and human rights abuses directly. He recently discussed his time as a political prisoner and stressed the importance of solidarity.
"You used to help others, but now you find yourself in the role of a person who needs help. At such moments, you begin to understand even more the importance and value of human rights work. Moreover, this work has various manifestations: from care packagess to letters of solidarity, which almost do not reach you, but you feel them on a metaphysical level. This is help from various governments and non-governmental organizations and many thousands of caring people who in one way or another contributed to your release and helped you overcome this difficult time. It's very touching."
Ales is a long-standing partner and friend of LIBERECO. Together, we are committed to ensuring that human rights violations in Belarus remain in the public eye and that solidarity with political prisoners remains strong.
"It is necessary that people do not disappear. After all, if no one knows what's going on with you, you can disappear there without a trace. You'll die and no one will know. The greater the public control, the more it deters the authorities from using repressive methods against political prisoners. I firmly believe that relatives and friends of political prisoners should definitely share information with human rights defenders and journalists. We are ready to speak up for these people and that is what we do."
We stand in solidarity with political prisoners and ensure that their plight and the human rights violations in Belarus remain widely visible and are not forgotten. We are taking action through various initiatives, including vigils in different European cities, the #WeStandBYyou godparenthood campaign, or letter-writing initiatives.
Because of your generous donation, we can continue our human rights work and support Ales Bialiatski in his fight for freedom and democracy. Thank you very much!
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