"Having freed us, they imprisoned others." Ales Bialiatski watched a film about Ales Bialiatski
The human rights activist himself didn't know about the film's creation while he was behind bars. But when he watched it, he was very moved and grateful to the team, calling the film an "unexpected, pleasant surprise."
In Warsaw, the documentary film "Bialiatski / Unbroken" was screened, dedicated to the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, head of "Viasna", human rights activist Ales Bialiatski. He answered audience questions and promised to release a new book in a year, Radio Svaboda reports.
The documentary film "Bialiatski/Unbroken" was made in Lithuania by the company "Ketvirtaversija". The director is Eimantas Beliatskas, the scriptwriters are Aliaksandra Hlaholieva and Yury Butsko, and the music for the film was composed by the well-known Lithuanian composer and musician Andrius Mamontovas.
Work on the film began when Ales Bialiatski was imprisoned. And by the end of the film's production, on December 13, 2025, Ales Bialiatski was unexpectedly released from prison and taken to Lithuania. The human rights activist himself did not know about the film's creation while he was behind bars. But when he watched it, he was very moved and grateful to the team, calling the film an "unexpected, pleasant surprise."
At the screening in Warsaw, in addition to Bialiatski himself, his colleagues – human rights activists Javid Agayev and Tolekan Ismailova from Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan – were present. UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation Andrea Balanhas Vargas participated remotely in the discussion.
The film opens with footage from the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, where the laureate's wife, Natalia Pinchuk, gave a moving speech. The film contains many documentary shots: from the early 1990s, where Bialiatski marches alongside Yury Khadyka, Henadz Karpenka, Yury Zakharanka, and others; bulldozers in Kurapaty; the violent suppression of protests in 2020: groans and cries from Akrestina, video recordings from the police station where detainees are mocked; harsh footage from prisons. And also Bialiatski's unexpected releases from prison in 2014 and 2025: touching reunions with his wife Natalia at the Minsk railway station and Vilnius airport.
"Freedom for Ales Bialiatski"
The crackdown on "Ploshcha" (Square) in 2010. Bialiatski was then Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). In early 2011, when he arrived in Paris, colleagues dissuaded him from returning to Belarus. But he returned. The Human Rights Center "Viasna" then supported political prisoners and their families, paying for lawyers' services.
In August, Ales was detained and charged under Part 2 of Article 243 of the Criminal Code ("concealment of income on a particularly large scale").
Dozens of people came to the trial then, and human rights activist Tatsiana Reviaka unfurled a banner "Freedom for Ales Bialiatski" in the courtroom, while people shouted: "Shame!"
On November 23, 2011, Ales Bialiatski was sentenced to four and a half years of imprisonment with confiscation of property. He served 1 year and 8 months less: he was released on June 21, 2014, under an amnesty — thanks to international pressure and solidarity.
After the events of 2020, Belarusian politicians and activists began to leave the country en masse. The leadership of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" fundamentally remained in Belarus — helping people with legal advice, hiring lawyers, and obtaining visas.
On July 14, 2021, security forces came for Ales Bialiatski, Valiantsin Stefanovich, and Uladz Labkovich. They were harshly detained. The "Viasna" human rights activists were released almost 5 years later.
When Ales was serving his first sentence, he received several hundred letters a day in Bobruisk Colony No. 2. There is an ironic moment in the film. The then head of the bureau for Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the International Federation for Human Rights, Sasha Kulaeva, wrote many letters to Ales Bialiatski, sending them in beautiful envelopes.
After Ales's release, they both came to the building of the Babruisk colony, took a selfie against its sign. And then a censor came out onto the porch — just to smoke. He recognized Bialiatski and joked: "Ales Viktaravich, have you missed us and want to come back?" — "No!" — Ales replied. And Sasha Kulaeva told the censor: "I wrote many letters to Ales." The censor immediately appreciated them: "I remember, your letters were very interesting." The audience also appreciated the censor's words — with laughter and applause.
But when Ales Bialiatski, along with his "Viasna" colleagues Valiantsin Stefanovich and Uladzimir Labkovich, were sentenced to 10, 9, and 7 years of imprisonment respectively in 2023, the head of "Viasna" served his sentence in a colony known for its particular cruelty towards political prisoners — Penal Colony No. 9 in Shklou. And then his previous "stint" in Babruisk seemed quite easy to Bialiatski compared to Shklou.
"Since the start of the war with Ukraine, all correspondence has been stopped, and political prisoners found themselves as hostages. Throughout 2025, I received only one letter from my wife. And that was it – it was complete incommunicado. But I knew that there was support, there was solidarity – I was convinced of it! And I told other prisoners. I'm not new to the human rights movement and I know how strongly human rights defenders and activists, while free, try to support those behind bars."
"All assessments are negative"
Ales admits that after his release, he is watching this film for the third time. After a 4-month break, though.
"In the film, I see the young lawyer Dzmitry Layeuski, who defended me in 2011, and now he himself is behind bars — sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment... The persecution of lawyers, human rights defenders, and public activists continues," the Nobel laureate sadly states.
After the screening, Bialiatski was asked how he assesses the human rights situation in Belarus six years after 2020.
"All assessments are negative. And the constant analysis of the UN special rapporteur, other international organizations, and their reports indicate that the assessment has not changed; it is negative. That is why political and economic sanctions were imposed. Yes, political prisoners are being released. But is this a serious change and improvement in the human rights situation? Absolutely not! Because having freed us, they imprisoned others. And the fact that about 1000 political prisoners are currently in Belarusian prisons is proof of this. A certain fatigue has emerged, some politicians have started saying that perhaps it is worth starting a dialogue with the regime... But such 'releases' of political prisoners should not deceive us. We must still strive for fundamental changes in the human rights situation in the country itself," Bialiatski is convinced.
New book
Human rights activist Ales Bialiatski is the author of several books: "Literature and Nation" (1991); "Runs along the shore of Lake Geneva" (2006); "Enlightened by Belarusianness" (2013); "Mercury Silver of Life" (2014); "Cold Wing of the Homeland" (2014). We asked him if he would write anything new after prison.
"I mostly had to write in prison, because there was more free time there than I have now. But I want to write at least my memoirs, a reflection on what happened during these 5 years I was imprisoned. I hope a new book will appear in a year," Ales Bialiatski promised.
He added that many former political prisoners write memoirs and recollections. He mentioned several new books: "Incommunicado. Torture by Solitude" by Ihar Karney, "The Colonists" by Maksim Znak.
"We have an entire genre emerging – Belarusian prison literature, and it is very high quality, I recommend everyone read it. Within our foundation, we will also support publishing activities, which will be oriented to some extent towards translations from other languages into Belarusian and from Belarusian into others," Ales Bialiatski promised.
Have new opportunities or tools emerged now to get people out of prison? Ales Bialiatski says it's a difficult question.
"I agree with my colleagues: only joint solidarity actions — involving diplomatic, international, and informational campaigns — lead to the release of political prisoners. This was the case with Belarusian prisoners, and also with prisoners from Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan. Some are more successful, some less, but it must be done!" — the Nobel laureate is convinced.
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