ADC Memorial congratulates our colleague and friend, Belarusian human rights defender Ales Bialiatski, on receiving his Nobel Peace Prize diploma in Oslo. The prize was awarded to Ales Bialiatski in 2022, when he was imprisoned as a political prisoner of the Belarusian dictatorial regime.

Welcoming the release of Ales Beliatski, who said on 8 January 2026 in Oslo: ‘The Nobel Peace Prize protected me in prison,’ ADC Memorial demands the unconditional release of all political prisoners, human rights defenders, journalists and activists in Belarus.

Ales Bialiatski was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his fight for human rights, democracy, and peaceful co-existence. He shares the prize with Memorial (Russia) and the Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine). In 2022, the award was presented in absence to Ales Beliatski, Chairman of the Human Rights Center Viasna. The human rights defender was detained on 14 July 2021 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. At the end of 2025, he was released in exchange for the partial lifting of sanctions and forcibly expelled from Belarus.

According to the Human Rights Center Viasna, there were at least 1,100 political prisoners in Belarusian prisons at the beginning of 2026.