Ales Bialiatski, the director of the Belarusian human rights centre Viasna and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2022, celebrates his 61st birthday on 25 September – behind Belarusian prison bars. We call on you to send Ales birthday greetings in prison.

The 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate has already been imprisoned as a political prisoner since 14 July 2021. On 3 March 2023, he was finally sentenced to 10 years in prison, while his Viasna colleagues Valiantsin Stefanovic and Uladzimir Labkovich were sentenced to 9 and 7 years respectively. This politically motivated sentence means that Ales will also have to spend his upcoming birthday on 25 September in prison.

We call on you to send Ales birthday greetings in prison! Write him a card or a letter and show him that you are thinking of him.

How do I write a letter to prison?

    • Please use the following spelling of the address:
        • Алесь Бяляцкі
        • ИК № 9
        • ул. Добролюбова, 16
        • 213410, г. Горки
        REPUBLIC OF BELARUS

       

    • Letters and cards must be written in Russian or Belarusian, otherwise the mail will not reach the prisoners. Below you will find a template.
    • Postage: Sending a postcard from Germany to Belarus costs 0.95 euros, sending a letter costs 1.10 euros. Sending a postcard or letter from Switzerland to Belarus costs 1.80 francs in both cases.
    • Post a picture of yourself with the postcard on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and use the hashtag #WeStandBYyou. Take a picture of yourself writing the card or before you drop it in the letterbox.

Your knowledge of Russian or Belarusian is limited? No problem!

    • Translation tools like Google Translate or DeepL do a good job, especially with simple and short sentences. It’s not the grammar that counts, but the gesture!
    • Use your creativity : Words are not always required – you can also draw something, for example.
    • Use the template below. You can print out the letter or write it manually.
Belarusisch: Алесь Бяляцкі, Я пасылаю табе гэтую паштоўку, каб павіншаваць цябе з Днём нараджэння. Людзі ва ўсім свеце, як і я, ведаюць і клапоцяцца пра цябе і жадаюць, каб ты правяла/ правёў гэты дзень не за кратамі. Я жадаю табе шмат сіл у гэтыя цяжкія часы і спадзяюся, што лепшыя часы зноў наступяць. А пакуль, калі ласка, ведай, што мае думкі з табой . З найлепшымі пажаданнямі,…
Russisch: Дорогой Алесь Беляцкий, этой открыткой я хочу поздравить Вас с Днём Рождения. Люди со всего мира, как и я, знают о Вас, переживают за Вас и хотели бы, чтобы этот день Вы провели где-нибудь в другом месте, а не за решеткой. В эти трудные времена я желаю Вам сил и надеюсь, что лучшие времена скоро наступят. А пока, прошу, знайте, что в мыслях я с Вами. С уважением,…
Translation: Dear Ales Bialiatski, I am sending you this card to congratulate you on your birthday. People around the world, like me, know and care about you and would want you to spend this day elsewhere than behind bars. I wish you strength in these difficult times and hope that better times will arrive soon. Until then, please know that my thoughts are with you. All the best,…