Ales Bialiatski, a human rights activist and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize from Belarus, was found guilty of funding rallies and given a 10-year prison term on Friday. The European Union called the trial a “sham” and denounced it.
The 60-year-old Bialiatski received the Nobel prize in October. He received the Nobel Prize in recognition of his efforts to advance democracy and human rights in Belarus.
President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, who is widely regarded as a steadfast friend of Russia, has ruled for nearly three decades despite numerous charges that he brutally imprisoned or expelled opponents.
Bialiatski, co-founder of the Viasna (Spring) human rights group, was observed as looking sombre, his hands cuffed behind his back, as he and his co-defendants watched proceedings from a courtroom cage at a cramped Minsk court.
Bialiatski was arrested in 2021 along with three others. They were charged with financing protests and smuggling money.
Belarusian state news agency Belta reported the court had handed down long jail sentences to all the men, including a decade in prison for Bialiatski.
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