During the information actions, organized by human rights defenders and civil society activists in the center of Vilnius, passers-by were able to get actual information on the situation with human rights in Belarus and sign postcards for Belarusian political prisoners. Along with the others Stefan Ericsson (left), the first Ambassador of Sweden to Belarus, who worked at this position for 4 years and had to leave it after the diplomatic conflict between Belarus and Sweden, caused by the "teddy bear drop", signed postcards for Belarusian prisoners.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About 30 people attended the event, that was held on 5 August in Vilnius, near the Belarusian Embassy in Lithuania. The action participants put on masks with a portrait of Ales Bialiatski and put out national flags and posters: “Human rights advocacy is no crime!”, “Solve problems, not jail those who speak openly about them!”, "Freedom to Ales Bialiatski!" and “Freedom to political prisoners!”.

During the picket the joint statement of the Belarusian Human Rights House and the Human Rights Center "Viasna" was announced. The principled position of human rights defedners regarding the arrest of Bialiatski is expressed in this statement: "The imprisonment of one of the most famous and respected human rights defenders in Belarus was the result of many years of repressive policy of the Belarusian authorities against civil society in the country, and is a punishment for the principled long-term human rights advocacy pursued by Ales Bialiatski."  "We strongly oppose politically motivated persecution of citizens and call on the authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and restore them in all civil and political rights. " – said in the statement. Human rights defenders Pavel Levinau and Valiantsin Stefanovich have given a statement to the embassy.

During the event some unknown people hanged out a white poster right on the wall of the Belarusian Embassy. The banner contained a portrait of Ales Bialiatski and an inscription in English “Freedom for political prisoners in Belarus”. It has been left on the wall next to the Embassy’s windows after the action.

 

 

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In August 2011, Ales Bialiatski was arrested and charged with “concealment of profits on an especially large scale” under Article 243, part 2, of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus. On November 24, after almost four months of pre-trial detention, the Minsk Pershamayski District Court sentenced him to four and a half years of imprisonment under strict regime conditions, confiscation of property – including the premises used for his organisation, the Human Rights Centre “Viasna” – and to a fine of 757,526,717 Belarusian Roubles (approximately 70,000 Euros). On 24 January 2012, the Minsk City Court confirmed the sentence on appeal, after all the motions filed by Ales Bialiatski’s lawyers were rejected. On 29 March 2012, the same court issued a new decision, ordering him to pay an extra amount of 140,366,151 Belarusian Roubles (nearly 12,700 Euros) in penalty in addition to the previous fine, which had already been paid in January 2012, due to alleged late payment of arrears.

 

 

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