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US State Department grants 2011 Human Rights Defenders Award to Ales Byalyatski

The US Department of State has granted its 2011 Human Rights Defenders Award to Ales Byalyatski, the imprisoned chairman of a Belarusian human rights group called Vyasna (Spring).

The 49-year-old Byalyatski shared the award with Uganda's Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law.

"Ales Byalyatski has bravely advocated on behalf of victims of political oppression and their families despite harassment by the Government of Belarus," said the press office of the US State Department in a statement. "As the founder of Vyasna, one of Belarus' leading human rights organizations, Byalyatski provided legal and practical support to victims of an on-going crackdown and acted as a key source of information about human rights violations. He is currently a political prisoner, serving a four and a half year sentence for defending human rights."

The Human Rights Defenders Award recognizes individuals or non-governmental organizations that show "exceptional valor and leadership" in advocating the protection of human rights and democracy in the face of government repression, the press office said.

On November 24, 2011, a judge of the Pershamayski District Court in Minsk sentenced Ales Byalyatski, who is vice president of the International Federation for Human Rights, to four and a half years in prison on a charge of large-scale tax evasion.

The charge stemmed from information about Mr. Byalyatski's bank accounts abroad, which was provided by authorities in Lithuania and Poland. During his trial, Mr. Byalyatski insisted that the money transferred by various foundations to his bank accounts abroad had been intended to finance Vyasna's activities and therefore could not be viewed as his income.

Mr. Byalyatski's appeal was rejected by the Minsk City Court on January 24. //BelaPAN