loading…
MINSK – A Belarusian court sentences Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Belyatsky to 10 years in prison on charges of cash smuggling and violation of public order.
The verdict on Friday (3/3/2023) came as part of a major case against members of the Vesna (Spring) human rights center.
Apart from Belyatsky, who is 60 years old, three other activists were given long sentences. All of the defendants denied wrongdoing.
According to Belarusian prosecutors, members of human rights groups transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars to Lithuania between 2016 and 2021, after receiving money from various foreign organizations.
The money was moved across the border unannounced, according to prosecutors.
The defendants are also said to have assisted participants in anti-government protests in Belarus between 2020 and 2021, while financing the riots “under the guise of human rights and charity activities.”
At that time, thousands of Belarusians took to the streets to protest incumbent leader Alexander Lukashenko’s victory in the presidential election.
In addition to serving 10 years in a high-security prison, Belyatsky was ordered to pay a fine of 185,000 Belarusian rubles (USD73,000).
Belyatsky has served prison terms in the past. In 2011, he was sentenced to four and a half years on tax evasion charges after allegedly keeping money in a foreign bank.
At the time, the activist insisted that the funds in question were not his.
Belyatsky was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last October, along with Memorial, Russian and Ukrainian human rights groups and the Center for Civil Liberties.
At the time, the Nobel Committee said the laureates “had for many years promoted the right to criticize power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens.”
(she)
