Ales Byalyatski

Ales Viktaravich Bialiatski is a Belarusian human rights defender, pro-democracy activist, and writer. He is chair of the Viasna Human Rights Centre. He was held as a prisoner of conscience. An activist for Belarusian independence and democracy since the early 1980s, Bialiatski is a founding member of Viasna and the Belarusian Popular Front, serving as leader of the latter from 1996 to 1999. He is also a member of the Coordination Council of the Belarusian opposition. He has been called "a pillar of the human rights movement in Eastern Europe" by The New York Times, and recognised as a prominent pro-democracy activist in Belarus.