Nobel Laureate Describes 'Oxygen Intoxication' After Belarus Prison Release

After enduring years behind bars in Belarus, Nobel Peace Prize recipient Ales Bialiatski is now grappling with the sensation of newfound liberty. Released from a Belarusian penal colony just days prior, Bialiatski described the feeling as akin to "oxygen intoxication," during an interview in Vilnius.

Bialiatski, a veteran human rights advocate, had been serving a decade-long sentence on charges of purported smuggling and fomenting public unrest. That said, the reality is a bit more complicated. these charges have been widely condemned as politically motivated. Following his release last Saturday, along with 122 other prisoners, Bialiatski's organization, Viasna, reported that over a thousand political prisoners remain incarcerated within Belarus. The nation has a population of 9.5 million.

According to Bialiatski, the experience of being released after nearly five years of confinement is overwhelming. "It is like jumping out of a room where there was no air...you have such oxygen intoxication, your head starts spinning immediately," he explained, six days after his unexpected liberation.

Bialiatski's freedom materialized after a representative for then-President Trump engaged with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko. Subsequently, the United States declared the cessation of sanctions on potash fertilizer, a key revenue stream for Belarus. Also among those released were prominent opposition figures Maria Kolesnikova and Viktor Babariko.

While expressing profound gratitude for his release, the 63-year-old Bialiatski conveyed a sense of unease, suggesting that he felt "trafficked" as part of a bargain. He believes his release was contingent upon economic benefits for Belarus.