Nobel winner Bialiatski calls for public dialogue in his last word during trial

Belarus needs a broad social dialogue aimed at national reconciliation, said the head of the Human Rights Center "Viasna", Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski, in his last word speech at a trial in Minsk.

The human rights activist mentioned that in the 1980s there were 3000 political prisoners in the entire Soviet Union, while now there are about 1500 of them in Belarus alone. He emphasized that during the investigation two of his lawyers were deprived of their licenses, and one of them - Vital Brahinets - was arrested and sentenced to eight years in prison.

Bialiatski assessed the criminal case of "Viasna" as politically motivated. He noted that for 13 months the investigators had been investigating tax evasion, and then the charges were changed to "smuggling by an organized criminal group."

The human rights activist compared the current repression in Belarus to the darkest days of Stalinism.

"We need to start a broad public dialogue aimed at national reconciliation, no matter how difficult it may seem to some people. The prerequisite for such a dialogue should be the release of all political prisoners, a large-scale amnesty and an end to repression, because there is no point in an amnesty if people are released with one hand and continue to be imprisoned with the other. Such a dialogue must include representatives of the authorities as well as representatives of the general public, political parties and movements, those who are now in prison and those who are fleeing the repression and have been forced to go abroad. It is a real proposal, if only there were the desire and the political will. The socio-political crisis in Belarus is not unique. At the moment, other countries in different parts of the world are looking for ways out of similar crises. The authorities and the public in Kazakhstan, in Venezuela, and even in Iran. It should be clearly understood that it is better to have hard negotiations and a gradual exit from the crisis than a ruthless confrontation, which can lead to very serious consequences: to poverty and misery, to violence and injustice, which will devastate Belarus. If we think of Belarus as our common homeland for all Belarusian citizens, where, despite different political views and geopolitical preferences, there is room for everyone. If we do not want to plunge the country into poverty, if we do not want to allow a mass forced exodus of Belarusians to the world in search of a better life, if we want to have a chance for the economic, social, political and ecological development of our people, we must start this social dialogue. Enough is enough, we have to stop this civil war! I hope my voice will be heard," said the human rights activist.

The verdict against the human rights defenders of "Viasna" will be announced on March 3. The prosecution is asking for 12 years for Ales Bialiatski, 11 years for Valiantsin Stefanovich, 9 years for Uladzimir Labkovich and 10 years for human rights activist Dzmitry Salauiou, who will be tried in absentia. The human rights defenders have been behind bars since the summer of 2021.