In the 90’s Ales worked in the Minsk subway, was one of the first people convicted for political reasons in Belarus.

Chronicle of repression

He was arrested after the Day of the Will in 1997 in Minsk. The march on the occasion of the Day of the Will ended while demonstrators clashed with militia. Officers tried to stop the demonstrators and do not allow them to reach the city’s center. The court trial began on 30 October 1997. 5 people were accused, among them Ales. In mid-November, Ales Koval was sentenced to forced labour and ordered to transfer 20 percent of his income to the state.