December 16, Pozirk. While it may be justified to negotiate with “bandits” to secure the release of hostages, Belarus needs fundamental change, human rights defender Aleś Bialacki told LRT days after his release from a Belarusian prison.
“We need an end to repression in Belarus, so that there are no political prisoners and the authorities begin serious structural changes. Otherwise, such exchanges of political prisoners make no sense,” he said.
Bialacki was one of 123 prisoners exchanged by Alaksandar Łukašenka for US sanctions relief on Belarusian potash fertilizers.
“Political prisoners are a means for the authorities to hold on to power,” he said, referring to the Łukašenka regime. “This is how they silence their opponents. They imprison dissidents, expand repression against Belarusian cultural figures and those who speak Belarusian, and wage a war against everything Belarusian, against Belarus itself. In essence, this is an anti-Belarusian regime acting against its own people with the sole purpose of clinging to power.”
He noted that while Łukašenka exchanges prisoners for sanctions relief, he remains adamant about denying people the freedom to express their opinions.
“Reprisals continue unabated. In fact, one hand releases political prisoners, while the other is taking new ones to be used in such trades. This is the reality, and this is abnormal.”
Bialacki, the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was arrested along with his associates in July 2021 and sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of smuggling cash and financing mass disorder—charges widely believed to be politically motivated.
Bialacki and one associate were released on December 13, while several others remain imprisoned.
