Loreen says words of support to Byalyatski from stage

• 8.04.2013, 11:17

The winner of the Eurovision 2012 song contest expressed her solidarity with a human rights activist at a concert in Stockholm.

At a concert for participants of the international conference to protect human rights defenders, Eurovision 2012 winner Loreen sent her best respects to Belarusian political prisoner Ales Byalyatski, whose family she had met in Minsk last year, Radio Svaboda reports.

The information was spread by Tatyana Ravyaka, Ales Byalyatski's co-worker from Viasna human rights centre.

“Loreen played a concert. As you may remember, she visited Belarus in summer and met with human rights activists and Ales's wife Natallya Pinchuk. Loreen mentioned Ales during her show. She remembers this story and Ales and sent her greetings to him and all human rights defenders who were jailed for their activity,'” she said.

The conference was organised by Civil Rights Defenders organisation. Representatives of more than 20 countries discussed how they could help their colleagues. According to Tatyana Ravyaka, Belarus and Viasna's head Ales Byalyatski were mentioned several times during the conference.

In November 2011, Ales Byalyatski was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for alleged tax evasion. The human rights activists didn't admit his guilt and said at the trial he had spent all the money to help victims of the regime.