When human rights defenders are imprisoned, it is a litmus test for democracy
An interview with Ales Bialiatski, human rights defender, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Belarusian political prisoner. Interviewer: Nasta Zakharevich
April 21, 2026 -
Ales Bialiatski
Nasta Zakharevich
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Hot TopicsIssue 3 2026Magazine
Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
NASTA ZAKHAREVICH: Let me start with the most important thing: how are you feeling? In the very first hours after your release, you said you will recover and return to work. Have you managed to start working yet?
ALES BIALIATSKI: From day one, I had to get up to speed. The first period after the release is stressful, because when you are incarcerated you exist within certain parameters: every day is the same and then every year is the same … And then with a release a sharp change occurs. People experience this release differently. Thus, there needs to be some kind of transition period. We can see that sometimes such sharp changes have a negative effect on people’s health. That is what happened, for example, in the case of Mikola Statkevich [a Belarusian opposition politician and long-time critic of Alyaksandr Lukashenka; he has spent many years in prison on politically motivated charges – editor’s note]. He later suffered a stroke, which I would largely attribute to this abrupt change in circumstances. He was placed under enormous psychological strain by the very prospect of regaining his freedom, only to find himself, just a few hours later, back in the uncertainty of imprisonment and facing a 14-year sentence.
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belarus, freedom, human rights, political prisoners
