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Human Rights House Network urges Minsk to release Byalyatski

The Human Rights House Network has called on the Belarusian authorities to immediately release rights defender Ales Byalyatski.

In an October 9 statement, the network's member and partner organizations expressed deep concern about the continued detention of Mr. Byalyatski and the "significant deterioration of his detention conditions."

"According to the information received form our partners, Ales Bialiatski’s [Byalyatski's] rights to receive visitors and food parcels have been severely restricted," the statement said.
"The consequence of these and other measures taken against him during his imprisonment is a serious deterioration in Ales Bialiatski’s health."

According to the Human Rights House Network, pressure on Mr. Byalyatski was stepped up after he turned 50 and received greetings and congratulations from across the world.

The statement urged the authorities to provide Mr. Byalyatski with access to "all medical support he needs" and ensure that the "prison conditions do not impact his health," as well as secure the activist's right to receive visits and private correspondence.

Ales Byalyatski, who is the leader of a human rights group called Vyasna and vice president of the International Federation for Human Rights, was arrested in Minsk on August 4, 2011.

On November 24, 2011, he was sentenced to four and a half years in prison on a charge of large-scale tax evasion. The charge stemmed from information about his bank accounts abroad, which was thoughtlessly provided by authorities in Lithuania and Poland under interstate legal assistance agreements. 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 subject to taxation. //BelaPAN