21:00, 28 April 2012

Human rights defenders ask Russian president to help to release Ales Bialiatski

At the recent meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the members of the Human Rights Board handed him a letter asking to use all his influence to promote liberation in Belarus of Ales Bialiatski, Vice-President of the FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights) and the head of the Human Rights Centre "Viasna" (Spring).

"Now, alarming news reports about a marked deterioration of his health are coming from Ales Bialiatski's detention. We hereby ask you, Mr President, to take reasonable steps to facilitate the release of Ales Bialiatski," says the letter of the members of the Human Rights Board.

The letter was signed by 15 members of the Board, including Lyudmila Alekseeva, Chair of the Moscow Helsinki Group; Svetlana Gannushkina, Chairman of the Committee "Civil Assistance"; Sergey Krivenko, a Board Member of the International Society "Memorial"; and Elena Panfilova, Director of the Centre for Anti-Corruption Studies and Initiatives "Transparency International – Russia", the HRC "Memorial" reports.