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Poland said to have also disclosed Byalyatski’s bank account information to Minsk

The office of the public prosecutor general of Poland has revealed that it also provided Minsk with information about bank accounts of a number of Belarusians, including prominent human rights defender Ales Byalyatski.

Maciej Kujawski, spokesman for the office reportedly told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that the agency “granted a legal assistance request with regard to Ales Byalyatski.”

“The content of that request did not include any information that would indicate that it was about an opposition figure or opposition activities,” Mr. Kujawski was quoted as saying|, BelaPAN said.

He pointed out that Poland and Belarus assist each other in criminal matters under an agreement signed in Minsk on October 26, 1994.

Polish channel TVN24 reports that the Belarusian authorities were given information about Mr. Byalyatski’s account at ING Bank.

Ales Mikhalevich, a candidate in Belarus’ 2010 presidential election who currently stays in Poland, condemned the Polish authorities’ move as betrayal. He noted that the political opposition in Poland would certainly use the incident to discredit the ruling coalition.

The 48-year-old Byalyatski, who is vice president of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and chairman of Vyasna (Viasna), an unregistered Belarusian human rights organization, was arrested in Minsk on August 4 and accused of large-scale tax evasion on the basis of information about his bank accounts abroad. He may be sentenced to up seven years in prison.

Earlier this year, the Lithuanian justice ministry informed the Belarusian authorities about Mr. Byalyatski’s account DnB NORD, one of the largest banks in Lithuania.