Belarusian authorities have annulled the passport of Nobel laureate and former political prisoner Ales Bialiatski, according to the Viasna Human Rights Center. The document had been valid until 2028.
“This is another form of transnational reprisal, intended to make life harder for political prisoners in exile,” Bialiatski said. “The authorities may try to cut our ties with Belarus, but it is a futile effort as Belarus will always remain in our actions and in our hearts.”
Human rights defenders reported passport annulments of dissidents in exile already in late March. Those affected include former political prisoners who were expelled from Belarus following early releases negotiated with Washington.
According to available information, authorities have released around 500 prisoners as a result of negotiations with US diplomats. Many of them were forced to leave Belarus, some even without any identification documents.
Minsk’s decision to annul dissidents’ passports violates international law, lawyers from the legal team of Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya stated.
Her legal advisor Leanid Marozau emphasized that such actions do not strip individuals of their rights and should not be automatically recognized by other states. He described Minsk’s move as a deliberate attempt to make Belarusians vulnerable abroad and stressed the need for a unified international response.
Bialiatskiwas among 123 prisoners exchanged by the regime of Alexander Lukashenko in mid-December 2025 as part of a deal with the United States for sanctions relief on Belarusian potash fertilizers. After his release, he was forced to leave the country and was taken to Lithuania.
The Belarusian activist was arrested in July 2021 together with his associates. He was later sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of cash smuggling and financing mass unrest, accusations widely considered politically motivated.
While serving his sentence, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, becoming one of the most prominent figures of the Belarusian democratic movement.
