Unbroken by prison and oppression. Belarusian opposition figure Mikalai Statkevich received the Homo Homini award, kicking off One World

Published: Mar 12, 2026 Reading time: 3 minutes Share:

Mikola Statkevich is a politician, activist, and one of the most prominent figures of the Belarusian opposition to dictator Alexander Lukashenko. He ran against him in elections and repeatedly organized anti-government protests. He has paid a high price for this: the regime has imprisoned him multiple times, and he has spent more than 12 years behind bars in total. Last year, after his release, he refused to accept deportation. This year he received the Homo Homini Award, which since 1994 has recognized individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the promotion of human rights.

Last year, in response to pressure from the United States, Minsk released nearly two hundred political prisoners in the spring and autumn. Among those freed were key figures of the Belarusian democratic movement, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, Maria Kalesnikava, and our new laureate Mikalai Statkevich.

However, what awaited them was not genuine freedom but forced exile. The authorities transported the dissidents to the Lithuanian border and forced them to cross it, preventing them from living in their own country. The story of Mikalai Statkevich stands out.

When the bus carrying him and other released prisoners briefly stopped before entering the neutral zone at the Lithuanian border, Statkevich stepped off and declared that he refused to leave his country.

For several days there was no news about him. It soon emerged that the regime had returned him to a penal colony with harsh conditions and reinstated the remainder of his fourteen-year sentence. He had received this sentence in 2021 for allegedly “organizing riots” after helping to mobilize protests following the falsified presidential election in Belarus in 2020.

In January this year he suffered a stroke in prison. In response, the authorities released him, and he is now recovering at home. We hope he will fully recover and that the regime will no longer persecute and imprison him on fabricated charges simply because he fights for freedom in Belarus. We are glad to present this award knowing that he is not behind bars.

“Mikalai Statkevich has spent more than thirty years defending the right of Belarusians to live in a free and democratic country, despite imprisonment and repression. His courage to stand up to authoritarian power inspires others and reminds us that international solidarity with those who pay a personal price for freedom truly matters,” said Nadiia Ivanova, Director of our Center for Human Rights and Democracy.

In total, Statkevich has spent more than 12 years in prison under various fabricated sentences. He ran in the Belarusian presidential election in 2010, and his political and activist work began in the early 1990s. Prison, intimidation, and repression by the authoritarian regime have never broken him.

The award was presented to Mikalai Statkevich's wife, Marina Adamovich, by Czech Senate's speaker Miloš Vystrčil.

The ceremony will take place on 11 March at the Crossroads Cultural Center in Prague. The evening will also mark the opening of this year’s edition of the One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival. The ceremony will be streamed live online on the channels of People in Need.