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Nobel Peace Prize: Who is Ales Bialiatski? Nobel Peace Prize: Who is Ales Bialiatski?
(32 minutes later)
Ales Bialiatski is a prominent Belarusian human rights activist, who is currently being held in prison without trial.Ales Bialiatski is a prominent Belarusian human rights activist, who is currently being held in prison without trial.
Mr Bialitski, 60, is the founder of the country's Viasna (Spring) Human Rights Centre, which was set up in 1996 in response to a brutal crackdown of street protests by Belarus' authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko. Mr Bialiatski, 60, is the founder of the country's Viasna (Spring) Human Rights Centre, which was set up in 1996 in response to a brutal crackdown of street protests by Belarus' authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
"He has devoted his life to promoting democracy and peaceful development in his home country," the Nobel Pease Prize committee said. Viasna provided support for the jailed demonstrators and their families, documenting the use of torture against political prisoners by the Belarus authorities.
Mr Bialitski was first arrested and jailed in 2011-14 on tax evasion charges he has always denied. "He has devoted his life to promoting democracy and peaceful development in his home country," said the head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Berit Reiss-Andersen, announcing this year's three Nobel Pieace Prize winners.
Mr Bialiatski spent three years in jail after being convicted on tax evasion charges he has always denied in 2011.
He was detained again in 2020 following massive protests over what opposition says were rigged elections in Belarus that kept Mr Lukashenko in power.He was detained again in 2020 following massive protests over what opposition says were rigged elections in Belarus that kept Mr Lukashenko in power.
"Despite tremendous personal hardship, Mr Bialiatski has not yielded an inch in his fight for human rights and democracy in Belarus," the committee said."Despite tremendous personal hardship, Mr Bialiatski has not yielded an inch in his fight for human rights and democracy in Belarus," the committee said.
Just before his arrest two years ago, Mr Bialiatski wrote on his Facebook page that the Belarusian authorities "are acting as a regime of occupation".
"Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators across all of Belarus, and hundreds [of them are] detained."
Mr Lukashenko - described in the West as Europe's last dictator - has ruled Belarus with an iron fist since 1994.
He has been allowing Russian President Vladimir, his close ally, to use Belarus's territory to launch deadly missile attacks on Ukraine and send Russian ground troops and armoury there there since the first day Moscow's invasion launched on 24 February.