Jailed Belarus Nobel winner should have been freed in prisoner swap, say supporters

By Andrius Sytas

VILNIUS (Reuters) - Supporters of jailed Belarusian Nobel Peace laureate Ales Bialiatski say the human rights activist should have been included in the biggest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War on Thursday.

Allies of Bialiatski and other jailed Belarusians are disappointed they were not included in the swap, which saw eight Russians, including a convicted murderer, exchanged for 16 prisoners in Russian and Belarusian jails, many of them dissidents.

Some of the Russian dissidents freed in the swap, including Ilya Yashin, an opposition activist, expressed anger or reservations on Friday at having been deported from their country against their will.

Bialiatski, 61, who is serving a 10-year sentence for financing anti-government protests after a trial in 2023 condemned by the U.S. and the European Union as a "sham", was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 - a year after his arrest.

"When we heard that the deal is imminent, we hoped that someone from Belarus political prisoners will surely be a part of it. First of all, of course, the jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner," said Alena Masliukova, a member of Viasna - the human rights organisation founded by Bialiatski.

"This was a total disappointment, and we still haven't overcome it," said Masliukova, who now lives in exile in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.

Among those released in this week's swap was German citizen Rico Krieger who had been sentenced to death on terrorism charges in Belarus, a close ally of Russia where - according to Viasna - 1,390 people are in jail for political reasons - many linked to mass protests four years ago.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, faced large protests after a disputed 2020 presidential election - the biggest challenge to his rule.

He has long dismissed accusations of human rights abuse.

Viasna says activists are still dragged before courts for their role in the protests, and Masliukova said political prisoners faced harsh conditions in jail.

"They are kept in cold cells, without contact with relatives. They leave jail with damaged health," she said.

Bialiatski returned voluntarily from exile to Belarus in 2021 despite knowing he likely faced arrest, which supporters said meant he might not be willing to leave the country again, a process which legally requires the prisoner to ask for a pardon.

"I know his character and I am sure there is no way he would ask for pardon from Lukashenko," said Siarhei Sys, a long-time friend. "I don't know what happens in five years ... It all depends on the state of his health."

(Reporting by Andrius Sytas; Editing by Helen Popper)