• Ales Beliatski was convicted of smuggling and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
• Germany called the 10-year prison term an attack on civil society.
• During the huge anti-Lukashenko rallies in 2020, the activist was detained.

Ales Beliatski, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize from Belarus, was given a 10-year term by a court in Minsk on Friday, according to media, the official news agency of Russia.

According to sources, he was convicted of the smuggling accusation.

Bialiatski and other activists were sentenced in the same trial, and exiled leader of the Belarusian opposition Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya called their sentences “appalling.”

“We must do everything to fight against this shameful injustice & free them,” she wrote on Twitter.

Germany called the 10-year prison term an attack by Minsk on civil society.

On Twitter, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock slammed the charges and trial against Bialiatski and co-defendants Valentin Stefanovich and Vladimir Labkovich as a ”farce” adding they were being judged ”simply because of their years-long fight for the rights, dignity and freedom of people in Belarus.”

”The Minsk regime is fighting civil society with violence and imprisonment,” Baerbock said, adding ”this is as much a daily disgrace as Lukashenko’s support for Putin’s war (in Ukraine).”

Baerbock called on Belarus to stop persecuting political opponents and requested the release of all 1,400 political prisoners.

During the 1980s, human rights violations in Belarus have been documented by Bialiatski, a pro-democracy activist.

In 1996, following a referendum that strengthened President Alexander Lukashenko’s dictatorial powers as president and a close friend of Russia, he established the Viasna, or Spring, organisation.

During the huge anti-Lukashenko rallies in 2020, the activist was detained.

Along with human rights organizations from Russia and Ukraine, Bialiatski received the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.

The new laureates received recognition for “an extraordinary endeavor to record war crimes, human rights abuses, and the misuse of power” in their home nations.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee at the time stated that they had “supported the right to criticize power and preserve the fundamental rights of citizens” for a long time.

The new laureates received recognition for “an extraordinary endeavor to record war crimes, human rights abuses, and the misuse of power” in their home nations.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee at the time stated that they had “supported the right to criticize power and preserve the fundamental rights of citizens” for a long time. ”

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