Bialiatski put on preventive supervision

Human rights defender Ales Bialiatski visited the Pershamaiski district police department in Minsk to be put on preventive supervision.

The leader of Viasna human rights centre, which was closed by the authorities, and Vice President of the International Federation for Human Rights said to BelaPAN he should visit the police once a month. Bialiatski does not have any movement restrictions. He even can travel outside Belarus.

Bialiatski spent 1,050 days behind the bars. He was arrested on August 4, 2011, and sentenced to 4.5 years of imprisonment for tax evasion on a large scale. He faced prosecution for his foreign bank accounts. He spent the money from the accounts on human rights activity. He wasn't able to open bank accounts in Belarus, because Viasna human rights centre works illegally. The authorities refused to register the organisation several times. The court also ignored the fact that the damage that Bialiatski allegedly caused to the state was compensated from donations of citizens.

The human rights activist served his term in correctional facility No. 2 in Babruisk. He was officially recognised a prisoner of conscience. Bialiatski was proposed for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012, 2013 and 2014.