Freedom for Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Ales Bialiatski!

Freedom for Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Ales Bialiatski!

Started
November 15, 2022
Petition to
the Belarusian government and its representatives
Signatures: 81,278Next Goal: 150,000
Support now

Why this petition matters

RU / ENG / UA / BY / DE / IT 

In Belarus, Ales Bialiatski, the chairman of the human rights centre "Viasna" and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2022, has been sitting innocently in prison since 14 July 2021.
Ales Bialiatski is one of more than 1,400 political prisoners in Belarus. They are all imprisoned solely for exercising their human rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association.

We call for the immediate and unconditional release of Ales Bialiatski and all other political prisoners by the Belarusian regime. We call on all authorities of the Republic of Belarus to immediately end the intimidation, persecution and imprisonment of peaceful demonstrators, opposition activists, human rights activists, students and media representatives.

The imprisonment of political prisoners and the persecution of political dissidents are serious violations of human rights, which Belarus, as a State Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, has undertaken to respect. We would like to remind the diplomatic representatives of the Republic of Belarus of their country's international obligations and call on the Belarusian authorities to grant the fundamental human rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association to all people in Belarus without restrictions.

Why is this important?

Ales Bialiatski was arrested on 14 July 2021 and is only one of many political prisoners in Belarus who are innocently in prison because they are committed to freedom, democracy and human rights. In 1996, Bialiatski founded the Belarusian human rights centre Viasna, which today can only operate from exile. In 2022, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize together with the Russian NGO Memorial and the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee's decision to award Ales Bialiatski the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize is an important sign of solidarity with all political prisoners in Belarus, whose fate we must not forget.

Since Belarus' presidential election in August 2020, which according to the OSCE was rigged, people have been arbitrarily detained and unlawfully sentenced every day in the EU's neighbouring country. In 2020 and 2021, more than 40,000 politically motivated arrests were counted and more than 1,800 cases of state torture were documented.

There are currently over 1,400 people in political detention, including 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski. Violence, arbitrariness, torture and repression against citizens, human rights organisations and independent journalists are commonplace.

How will the signatures be handed over?
A handover to a Belarusian embassy is planned.

Support now
Signatures: 81,278Next Goal: 150,000
Support now
Share this petition in person or use the QR code for your own material.Download QR Code

Decision Makers

  • the Belarusian government and its representatives