English

Associates condemn sentencing of Byalyatski

By convicting Ales Byalyatski, the authorities seek to disable his human rights group called Vyasna (Spring), Belarus` most active rights organization, opposition politician Vintsuk Vyachordka told reporters outside a district court in Minsk, where Mr. Byalyatski`s trial was held, on Thursday, BelaPAN said.

Earlier in the day, Judge Syarhey Bandarenka of Minsk`s Pershamayski District Court sentenced the 49-year-old activist, who is also vice president of the International Federation for Human Rights, to four-and-a-half years in a medium-security institution on a charge of large-scale tax evasion. The judge also ordered the confiscation of Mr. Byalyatski’s property.

The confiscation order means that Vyasna will lose its office space, as its office is located at an apartment belonging to Mr. Byalyatski, said Mr. Vyachorka.

“All hopes that Alyaksandr Lukashenka will embark on liberalization and make a try to rejoin the company of the civilized leaders of Europe and the rest of the world were in vain,” said Mr. Vyachorka.

Aleh Hulak, chairman of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, denounced the sentence for Mr. Byalyatski as illegal. “Undoubtedly, Mr. Byalyatski will be declared a political prisoner, and we will be doing our utmost to secure his release.”

Mr. Hulak said that the Belarusian judiciary would, however, have an opportunity to “correct its mistake,” referring to Mr. Byalyatski’s intention to file an appeal against the sentence.

Mr. Byalyatski’s wife, Natallya, said that she had strong doubts that the appeal would be upheld.

“We have had to survive much during our 15-year-long work, including the annulment of our registration, the introduction of criminal penalties for unregistered organizations and, as a result, the arrest and conviction of Byalyatski, our chairman,” commented the activist`s associate, Valyantsin Stefanovich. “Perhaps, our office will soon be sealed. But we are set to continue our activities.”

The Lithuanian ambassador in Belarus, Edminas Bagdonas, condemned the prosecution of the rights activist as politically motivated. “We will respond to it,” he warned.