Nobel Winner Trail In Russia: Nobel Prize winner Ales Baliatsky of Belarus was taken for trial in Minsk on Thursday (January 5). Ales Baliatsky was co-awarded last year’s Nobel Peace Prize. He founded Viyasana (Spring) in 1996, the most prominent rights group in the authoritarian country. Viasna said on social media that Ales Baliatsky and his associates Valentin Stefanovich and Vladimir Labkovic were seen in the prison courtroom at the start of the hearing.
Ales Balyatsky, 60, of Belarus, and his allies were jailed in 2020 following mass protests against the regime after authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed his victory in elections deemed fraudulent by the international community .
In custody since 2021
With the help of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko cracked down on the opposition movement, jailing his critics or sending them out of the country. The start of the high-profile Vysna trial follows the start of the trial of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, an independent journalist and leader of the opposition movement living in exile. Beliatsky, Stefanovich and Labkovic have been in custody since July 2021. Initially, he was accused of tax evasion.
Several charges including inciting enmity
Viasna said in November that rights campaigners are now accused of smuggling large amounts of money into Belarus to allegedly fund opposition activities. Such people face imprisonment of seven to 12 years. Several employees of Tut.Y, the largest independent news outlet in Belarus, including its editor-in-chief Marina Zolotova, will all go on trial. He has been facing many charges including tax evasion and inciting enmity. The media outlet was called extremist in 2021.
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