Ales Bialiatski gets Pawel Wlodkowic Award

The Belarusian human rights defender received the award in Warsaw on the International Human Rights Day.

The awarding ceremony took place in the Polish Sejm. Ombudsman Irena Lipowicz handed in the award to the former political prisoner and said that it was an unanimous decision of the organisers to award Bialiatski. Robert Tyszkiewicz, the chairman of the Sejm's Foreign Affairs Committee, took part in the ceremony.

Ales Bialiatski thanked for solidarity with the Belarusians and for real help from Poland. According to the human rights activist, one of the examples of such help is Poland's support of Belarusian NGOs and the independent media, such as charter97.org, Radio Racyja and Belsat.

“I spoke about the situation of human rights in Belarus,” he said to charter97.org. “The situation is bad. We see tension in the region due to the Russian-Ukrainian war. Nevertheless, Belarusian civil society and independent media struggle for human rights. They need help and support and get them from Poland and the EU. I'd like to emphasise the importance of the media that work outside Belarus for the people of our country. They don't suffer from pressure and censorship and can say what they think.

The award is not my personal merit. The award is important for all Belarusian activists and civil society. It shows that Poland remembers about the difficult and tragic situation in Belarus. The Poles support us and express their solidarity with us.”

The Pawel Wlodkowic Award was founded in 2006. It is the first time when it has been given to a foreign citizen.