Nobel Is Defence Witness

Ales Bialiatski's case is unique.

The 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski is not the third laureate behind bars in history, as the press cautioned. He is the only one. His case is unique.

Predecessor of Muratov and Ressa

When the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Dmitry Muratov and Maria Resse last year, we learned that they were the first journalists to receive this prize since 1935.

German writer and journalist Carl von Ossietzky won the prize in 1935. The Nobel Committee noted that the laureate is distinguished by "a burning love for freedom of thought and expression; a belief in the need for free competition in all areas of spiritual life; a broad international outlook; a respect for values created by other nations – and all of these dominated by the theme of peace". Carl von Ossietzky has been called not just a "symbol of the struggle for peace" rather than its "champion".

At the time of the award, Mr Ossietzky was in the prison hospital. He was transferred there from a concentration camp in which he was imprisoned on Hitler's orders.

Carl von Ossietzky was the first Nobel Peace Prize laureate while in captivity.

Liu Xiaobo Charter Signatory

The second imprisoned laureate in history was Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese human rights activist and writer. Liu Xiaobo has been the head of China's PEN since 2003. He signed Charter-08 in 2008 demanding democratic reforms. He was soon arrested. This occurred two days before the scheduled publication of the Charter.

He was sentenced to 11 years in prison for "incitement to undermine the state order" in December 2009.

Liu Xiaobo was in prison when he was awarded the prize “for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China”.

Mr Bialiatski is the only one

Not only Carl von Ossietzky and Liu Xiaobo by other prisoners of regimes were awarded with the prize: Andrei Sakharov (while in exile), Lech Walesa and Aung San Suu Kyi (while under house arrest).

Only one Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ales Bialiatski, receives word of the world's high award behind bars while awaiting trial.

Ales is the only accused but not convicted laureate.

All previous ones were convicted or sentenced.

This is a unique and ridiculous situation but not surprising for Lukashenka's Belarus.

If the dictator were in his right mind, he would have ordered to free Ales, and all political prisoners, as soon as possible. Bypassing courts, there are no courts in Belarus for a long time, and without trial limitations.

Attempts to convict Bialiatski on criminal charges are absurd, no one in the world will believe in such a verdict, just as no one believes in any of Lukashenka's trials against "politically accused people".

And then Mr Nobel himself will be a defence witness!

Andrei Sannikov, Facebook