Second Anniversary of the Arrest of Ales Byalyatski
Press Statement
Marie Harf
Deputy Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
August 2, 2013
August 4 marks the second anniversary of the arrest of Ales Byalyatski, Chairman of leading Belarusian human rights
organization Vyasna and a winner of the Department of State’s 2011 Human Rights Defender Award. Byalyatski provided
legal and practical support to victims of political repression and their families, and catalogued human rights
violations. He is currently serving a four and a half year prison sentence for his efforts. We honor Byalyatski’s work
to protect the weak and uphold the highest standards of human rights despite harassment by Belarusian authorities.
We reiterate our call on the Government of Belarus to immediately release Byalyatski and all political prisoners and
restore their civil and political rights. We look forward to a day when enhanced respect for democracy and human rights
in Belarus allows us to improve bilateral relations.
ENDS