Speaking in Białystok, northeastern Poland, on Tuesday, the Nobel Peace Prize winner said the EU must keep its sanctions on Belarus, calling them "the only instrument" forcing the regime to negotiate with the United States.
"If it were not for these sanctions, I am convinced I would still be in prison," he said.
Bialiatski was released from a Belarusian prison and deported in December 2025 along with 123 other detainees.
He said talks between Washington and Minsk have since led to a wave of further releases – around 500 people, by his own estimate.
According to Bialiatski, about 1,000 political prisoners remain behind bars in Belarus.
"Some are getting out of prison, but others keep ending up there — it is like a carousel," he said, adding that new arrests, often of journalists and activists, are still happening over old, resurrected cases.
He urged the West to distinguish between the regime and ordinary Belarusians, most of whom oppose the Russian war in Ukraine, which Minsk continues to back.
"People quietly hate this government, but they are afraid of it," Bialiatski said, describing it as a junta propped up by the army and security services, including the KGB.
He added that since 2020, between 700,000 and a million people have left Belarus for political reasons.
The Belarusian activist also announced a new foundation in his name, registered in Warsaw, which will run human rights education and research work across the wider region, including Ukraine, the Baltic states, Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
The new organization plans to hold workshops for young people, conduct policy analysis, publish reports and award scholarships in Bialiatski's name, with the first educational events expected to begin in autumn in Warsaw, Vilnius and Oslo.
Bialiatski said the Viasna Human Rights Centre, which he leads, continues to operate from outside Belarus, mainly in Poland and Lithuania, monitoring rights abuses and supporting victims and their families.
(ał)
Source: PAP