Ahead of the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in December, Belarusian human rights activist Alesi Biaryatski, one of this year's laureates, has been indicted by Belarusian prosecutors and sentenced to up to 12 years in prison. There is a risk of becoming.
The Belarusian prosecutor's office announced on the 28th that Mr. Byalyatzki was indicted on charges of illegally bringing in large amounts of cash from abroad and involving citizens in activities that disrupt public order.
If convicted, he could face up to 12 years in prison.
Mr. Byaryatski, along with Ukrainian and Russian human rights groups, was selected for this year's Nobel Peace Prize for denouncing the actual state of human rights violations by the Lukashenko administration and working to spread knowledge about human rights. .
However, Mr. Byaljaczki was detained in July last year amidst the government's intensifying crackdown on the spread of large-scale anti-government demonstrations alleging fraud over the presidential election of the year before, and was imprisoned in prison. He will be indicted again before the award ceremony.
The human rights group "Spring" founded by Mr. Byaljaczki commented in an NHK interview, "It is a completely ridiculous crime, and we strongly condemn the actions of the prosecuting authorities."
His wife is expected to represent him at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony on December 10 in Oslo, Norway.