UCSJ Condemns Sentence of Ales Belyatsky

Join us in protesting against the unfair and politically motivated sentence of leading Belarussian activist Ales Belyatsky. Ales Belyatsky, president of NGO Viasna (Spring) is a well-known, honest patriot and champion of democratic reform in Belarus.

The money he received from donors was spent solely to promote human rights and help political prisoners and their families. He is accused in non-paying the taxes from his "profit."

A Minsk court sentenced him on November 25, 2011 to four-and-half-years in a labor camp.

The Belarussian authorities have activists in a bind: they cannot legally register their organizations or receive financial support from abroad.

This sentence proves that Belarussian authorities continue to dupe the public and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) governments by not releasing all political prisoners.

In addition to Belyatsky, the leading opposition presidential candidate Andrey Sannnikov is still in a labor camp, along with many others.   UCSJ demands that Belyatsky's sentence be overturned and that Belarus accord with its UN and OSCE obligations.