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The Peace Prize for 2022 was divided among 3 winners. One of the award winners was Ales Bialiatski. The Belarusian democracy campaigner could not be there himself during the peace prize ceremony in Oslo. The reason was that he had been arrested. Alleged to be an instigator in connection with the protests after the fixed presidential election in 2020. Nå er dommen kommet, 10 års fengsel.

Ales Bialiatski a danger for Lukashenko

Belarus’ dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko is known for cracking down on opponents. There are several thousand political prisoners in Belarusian prisons, and even more opponents of Lukashenko’s regime have fled the country.

Lukashenko’s opportunity to hold on to his personal power is to crack down on opponents. He does not have the population behind him. The 2020 election was obviously won by Aleksandr Lukashenko by cheating. All the peace prize winners in 2022 had a common denominator. It was democracy and human rights in Russia’s backyard. I wrote a finger against Putin in my comment about the award.

A dictator pushed by the people and by Putin

There are many political refugees from Belarus in Europe. These often refer to Belarus as an occupied country. What they are referring to is that Belarus is in practice ruled by Putin through his power over President Lukashenko. Lukashenko maintains his power because Russia supports Belarus financially and gives Lukashenko assistance to crack down on political opponents.

It is obvious that the people of Belarus want a change, most of them are also against Russia’s war in Ukraine and support Ukraine’s fight for independence. Lukashenko is pressured by Putin to make Belarus available to the Russian military. We constantly see attacks with rockets and drones from Russian forces in Belarus. Russia is trying to get the military in Belarus to join an attack from Belarus against Ukraine. Such an attack will not have support in the population, probably not in the military either.

Of course I condemn the imprisonment of Ales Bialiatski. I also condemn the imprisonment of all political opponents of Aleksandr Lukashenko. Set them all free.

Sources:

Belarus jails Nobel winner Bialiatski for 10 years; EU, US protest | Reuters

Ales Bialiatski: Nobel Prize-winning activist sentenced to 10 years in jail – BBC News

Belarus jails Nobel-winning rights activist Ales Bialiatski for 10 years | The Times of Israel

Belarus court jails Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski for 10 years: Who is he? | Explained News,The Indian Express