The Viasna Human Rights Center welcomes the release of Ales Bialiatski, Uladz Labkovich, and other Belarusian political prisoners on December 13, 2025. This event was the result of long-term, consistent, and principled efforts by the Belarusian society, the international democratic community, international organizations, and diplomacy of the United States of America and European democracies, which for many years have been raising the issue of the illegal imprisonment of human rights defenders, journalists, civil society activists, and dissidents in Belarus and seeking their release.

Ales Bialiatski is the founder of Viasna, a human rights activist, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and a man whose name is inextricably linked with the protection of human dignity, freedom, and solidarity in Belarus. His release is of great importance not only for the human rights community and the society of the country, but also for all those who continue to fight for human rights in the face of repression. This is a confirmation that international solidarity, pressure, and the principled position of democratic states can bring real results. This is an opportunity to resume the internal dialogue in Belarus.

At the same time, Viasna emphasizes that the joy of Ales Bialiatski’s release cannot overshadow the fact that more than a thousand Belarusian political prisoners, including Viasna members Maryia Rabkova and Valiantsin Stefanovich remain behind bars, subjected to ill-treatment, restriction of rights, pressure, and isolation. For these people, every day of imprisonment is a continuation of injustice and violations of fundamental human rights.

We call on the Belarusian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners, stop criminal and administrative prosecution for political reasons, and create conditions for the restoration of the rule of law, human rights, and fundamental freedoms.

The Viasna Human Rights Center expresses its sincere gratitude to the governments of democratic countries, diplomats, international organizations, human rights networks, and all the people who have shown perseverance and solidarity over the years, not allowing the world to forget about the fate of political prisoners in Belarus. We urge them to continue this work, seeking freedom for everyone who has been deprived of it for their beliefs.