Ales Bialiatski
| Ales Bialiatski | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
25 September 1962 Vyartsilya, Karelian ASSR, Soviet Union |
| Nationality | Belarussian |
| Other names | Ales Bialacki, Ales Byalyatski, Aleś Bialacki, Alies Bialiacki, Aliaksandr Bialiatski |
| Employer | Viasna Human Rights Centre |
| Known for | Human rights activism |
| Spouse(s) | Natallia Pinchuk |
| Awards | Václav Havel Award for Human Rights (2013) |
Ales Bialiatski (Belarusian: Алесь Бяляцкі/Aleś Bialacki, sometimes transliterated as Ales Bialacki, Ales Byalyatski, Alies Bialiacki and Alex Belyatsky) is a Belarusian political activist known for his work with Viasna Human Rights Centre, of which he is currently the head and the founding of the BPF Party. He is the vice president of the International Federation for Human Rights. Bialiatski has received the Homo Homini Award and the Per Anger Prize for his efforts in promoting human rights and democracy. He was arrested by Belarusian authorities on tax evasion charges in 2011.
Bialiatski was born in Vyartsilya, in today's Karelia, Russia, to Belarusian parents. He is a scholar of Belarusian literature, graduated from Francishak Skaryna Homiel State University. Bialiatski also received a PhD from the Belarusian Academy of Sciences. He is a member of the Belarusian Writers Union, and helped to found the Tutejshyja Association of Young Writers, serving as the group's chairman from 1986–1989.
In the 1980s, he also became actively involved in anti-Soviet protests. One notable event he helped to organize was a memorial ceremony at Kurapaty, the site of thousands of killings by the NKVD in the late 1930s. Bialiatski was also one of the founding members of the Belarusian Popular Front.
Bialiatski founded the Viasna Human Rights Centre in 1996. The Minsk-based organization provides financial and legal assistance to political prisoners and their families.
According to the International Federation for Human Rights, on 14 February 2011, Bialiatski was summoned to the Public Prosecutor's office and warned that as Viasna was an unregistered organization, the government would seek criminal proceedings against it if the group continued to operate.
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