Bialiatski: Belarusians Are Hostages of Lukashenka

The head of the Viasna Human Rights Center, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former political prisoner Ales Bialiatski has urged the international community to distinguish between the Belarusian people and the Lukashenka regime, between Belarus and Russia, and not to treat Belarus as a country that has definitively fallen into Russia’s sphere of influence. He made this appeal in an op-ed for The New York Times.

Below is a translation of the column.

I woke up on December 13 in the infamous Penal Colony No. 9 in Belarus, as I had woken up every day for four and a half years — as a political prisoner. But that Saturday was different. Unexpectedly, I was ordered to pack my belongings, blindfolded and driven away. I did not know where I was being taken or why.

But when we crossed the border into Lithuania, I realized that I was going to be free. That day, I became one of 123 prisoners released in exchange for the lifting of U.S. sanctions on key Belarusian export goods. I am grateful to President Trump for making this possible, but the work is not yet finished.

My story is part of the broader struggle of the Belarusian people for freedom. I was detained in July 2021 during the brutal repression of political opponents that the country’s leader, Alexander Lukashenka, launched in response to the peaceful protests of 2020. As the head of the Viasna Human Rights Center, I was charged with “smuggling” money and financing group actions that “grossly violate public order.”

On March 3, 2023, following a show trial that was widely condemned as politically motivated, I was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison. A year later, the United Nations determined that I was being arbitrarily detained in violation of international law and demanded my immediate and unconditional release. Nevertheless, I remained imprisoned in horrific conditions, placed in solitary confinement and denied access to essential medication and regular contact with my family.

The human rights situation in Belarus had begun deteriorating long before my arrest, including through the brutal repression of political participation and freedom of expression ahead of the August 2020 presidential election. After Lukashenka’s so-called victory in an election that European officials said was neither free nor fair, the Belarusian people mobilized to demand respect for their democratic freedoms.

The 2020 electorate was younger and more engaged with human rights issues than 30 years earlier, when Lukashenka first came to power. As the broad support for his opponent demonstrated, Belarusians were ready for change. Instead, Lukashenka unleashed terror against his own people to cling to power: his enforcers violently suppressed peaceful protests, arbitrarily imprisoning thousands and subjecting hundreds to torture.

Throughout my imprisonment, the human rights situation continued to worsen. In 2023, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, found evidence of systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations, noting that some may amount to crimes against humanity. As of last month, around 1,100 political prisoners were reportedly still being held in Belarus, though the real number is likely far higher, while freedom of speech and freedom of the press have been virtually destroyed.

Anyone who criticizes the Lukashenka regime — whether a human rights defender or not — risks repression by the authorities. The people imprisoned alongside me came from all walks of life: students, factory workers, members of the military. They were simply people who dared to demand democracy.

What Lukashenka truly fears is what will happen when the Belarusian people demand freedom. He is clearly determined to remain in power to enrich himself and his family. He seeks to preserve and entrench a regime that continues to serve elites who carry out his will. A significant portion of the Belarusian population unequivocally rejects his dictatorship. Many of them will accept nothing less than his immediate departure and the opportunity to build a democratic society.

The international community plays a crucial role in supporting the Belarusian people. In addition to maintaining economic pressure on the regime, including sanctions against individuals and economic sectors, the most important steps involve supporting pro-democracy organizations both inside the country and abroad.

Many pro-democracy activists now operate in exile. Democratic states must protect activists abroad who may become targets of persecution by the Belarusian authorities, provide financial support to their organizations, and help foster the civic environment inside Belarus that is necessary to advance democracy and human rights and to allow criticism of the regime. At the same time, despite the dangers, many brave people inside Belarus continue to fight for freedom, and they must not be forgotten. We must find new ways to build solidarity across borders, given the scale of the challenges facing the Belarusian people.

When considering ways to improve the situation in Belarus, it is important to make two distinctions.

First, it is essential to distinguish between Belarus and Russia. It is wrong to assume that Belarus is always on Russia’s side. Despite Lukashenka’s alliance with President Vladimir Putin, some polls show that most Belarusians oppose sending troops to participate in Russia’s war against Ukraine. The world should not write off Belarus as having fallen into Russia’s sphere of influence.

Second, it is necessary to always distinguish between the Belarusian people and the Belarusian regime in all contexts. The people of Belarus are hostages of Lukashenka. The fact that the Belarusian people continue to resist under conditions of brutal repression shows that Lukashenka’s time is running out. That is why we must intensify efforts to promote democracy and human rights in our country.

Throughout my time in prison, I never once lost faith in the Belarusian people. The world must not lose it either.