Archive · 18 Dec 2025
Freed Nobel Laureate Bialiatski Criticizes Belarus Regime
Ales Bialiatski is a brave man who has been fighting for human rights in Belarus for a long time.
He was put in jail in 2021 because he was protesting against the government.
While he was in prison, he found out that he had won the Nobel Peace Prize, but he didn't believe it at first.
He was recently freed as part of a deal between the U.S. and Belarus.
Bialiatski says that Belarus is going back to how it was in the Soviet times, and he thinks the president, Alexander Lukashenko, is making things worse.
He also says that it's very hard to be a human rights activist in Belarus because you might end up in jail.
Bialiatski started an organization called Viasna to help political prisoners and their families.
He is happy to be free and wants to continue his work to help Belarus.
Ales Bialiatski, a Belarusian human rights campaigner, was freed on December 16, 2023, in a U.S.-brokered deal.
He found out about his 2022 Nobel Peace Prize while in prison from other inmates.
Bialiatski was arrested in 2021 as part of a crackdown on mass protests in Belarus.
He co-founded the human rights organization Viasna in 1996 to assist political prisoners and their families.
Bialiatski criticized the Belarusian regime, stating that the country is sliding back to Soviet times under President Alexander Lukashenko.
- Who
- Ales Bialiatski, a Belarusian human rights campaigner and Nobel Peace Prize laureate
- What
- Bialiatski was freed in a U.S.-brokered deal and criticized the Belarusian regime
- When
- He was released on December 16, 2023, and found out about his Nobel Prize in 2022 while in prison
- Where
- The interview took place in Vilnius, Lithuania
- Why
- Bialiatski was arrested in 2021 as part of a crackdown on mass protests in Belarus
- Ales Bialiatski
- Belarusian human rights campaigner and Nobel Peace Prize laureate
- Arrest Date
- 2021
- Release Date
- December 16, 2023
- Nobel Prize Year
- 2022
- Organization Founded
- Viasna (1996)
- Prisoner Exchange
- 123 prisoners released in exchange for partial easing of U.S. sanctions
- Lukashenko's Rule
- Since 1994