UN rapporteur calls for release of Byalyatski

Miklos Haraszti, the UN Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur on Belarus, has urged the Belarusian government to “immediately and unconditionally” release and rehabilitate human rights defender Ales Byalyatski.

“Mr. Bialiatski’s [Byalyatski’s] detention is a symbol of the repression against human rights defenders,” he says in a statement issued on the occasion of the second anniversary of the activist’s arrest.

The rapporteur describes Mr. Byalyatski as an “internationally respected human rights defender” whose human rights work has been “broadly applauded.”

“As many other human rights defenders in Belarus, Mr. Bialiatski could not legally and without hindrance work, because of the refusal by Belarusian authorities to register his NGO,” Mr. Haraszti says, urging the Government to acknowledge human rights organizations in the country, and start cooperating with them to establish an independent national human rights institution as pledged in the nation’s commitments to the UN.

The rapporteur notes that the authorities’ decision to outlaw Vyasna, a human rights group led by Mr. Byalyatski, was in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The UN Human Rights Council has unanimously declared that that no law should criminalize activities in defense of human rights on account of the origin of funding, the statement says.

“The detention of Mr. Bialiatski is clearly a consequence of him continuing his not only legitimate but also legal work under international human rights law,” Mr. Haraszti says. “The fundraising undertaken by Mr. Bialiatski for the purposes of allowing the very existence of Viasna, and continuation of its activities was in conformity with international human rights law.”

Mr. Haraszti has urged the Belarusian government to provide the imprisoned rights defender with access to proper medical care and ensure that he receives visits and full correspondence.

Ales Byalyatski, currently 50, 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. Mr. Byalyatski has been vice president of the International Federation for Human Rights since April 2007.