Nobel Peace Prize: Who is Ales Bialiatski?

Ales Bialiatski is a prominent Belarusian human rights activist, who is currently being held in prison without trial.

Mr Bialitski, 60, is the founder of the country's Viasna (Spring) Human Rights Centre, which was set up in 1996 in response to a brutal crackdown of street protests by Belarus' authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

"He has devoted his life to promoting democracy and peaceful development in his home country," the Nobel Pease Prize committee said.

Mr Bialitski was first arrested and jailed in 2011-14 on tax evasion charges he has always denied.

He was detained again in 2020 following massive protests over what opposition says were rigged elections in Belarus that kept Mr Lukashenko in power.

"Despite tremendous personal hardship, Mr Bialiatski has not yielded an inch in his fight for human rights and democracy in Belarus," the committee said.