Belarus releases 123 prisoners including opposition leaders after US lifts sanctions | Belarus
Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko released 123 prisoners, including Nobel peace prize winner Ales Bialiatski and leading opposition figure Maria Kalesnikava, after the United States lifted sanctions on the Belarusian pot, a major export item.
The announcement followed two days of talks with US president Donald Trump’s envoy, the latest diplomatic move since the Trump administration began talks with the autocratic leader.
Saturday’s largest prisoner release since talks began is part of a larger rapprochement that Lukashenko’s regime is attempting with the West. Minsk, a close ally of Russia and President Vladimir Putin, has been largely isolated from Europe and other western states due to its poor human rights record and brutal crackdown on public protests.
The gradual détente is part of what US officials told Reuters was an attempt to remove itself from Putin’s sphere of influence, and which the Belarusian opposition has expressed doubts about.
The announcement of the release, which included senior opposition figures and human rights defenders, was met with fanfare. Bialiatski, one of the winners of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, is a human rights activist who advocated on behalf of political prisoners before he himself was imprisoned in July 2021.
Also released were Kalesnikava, one of a trio of women who led protests against Lukashenko in 2020, and Viktar Babaryka, who was arrested while trying to oppose Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election.
The health of many detainees reportedly deteriorated during their detention due to what human rights groups say was mistreatment by authorities.
Kalesnikava’s sister, Tatsiana Khomich, said her sister was grateful to the United States for its role in facilitating her release.
“He told me he was very happy to be released and was grateful to the United States and Trump and all the countries involved for their efforts to guide the process,” Khomich told Reuters.
Relatives of the prisoners gathered in front of the US embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, where some of them were expected to be taken from Belarus. Ukrainian officials said that 114 civilians, including Ukrainian and Belarusian citizens, were transferred to Ukraine.
Trump’s envoy to Belarus, John Coale, told reporters in Minsk that the United States would lift sanctions on potash “per President Trump’s instructions.”
The US and EU imposed sanctions on Belarus after the government cracked down on popular protests following a contentious 2020 election that included mass detention and torture of political opponents.
More sanctions were imposed in 2022 after Belarus allowed Russia to use its territory for its invasion of Ukraine.
Belarusian opposition figures thanked Trump for his efforts and said the release of prisoners was proof of the sanctions regime’s impact on the autocratic government. Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya called for EU sanctions to remain in place, saying it was critical to “ensure the democratic transition and ensure accountability”.
Lukashenko has denied holding political prisoners, instead saying the people in his prisons are “bandits” and state opponents. Belarusian human rights group Viasna, which is banned in the country, said 1,227 political prisoners remained in prison.
Coale said in statements published in Belarusian state media that Lukashenko could help negotiations with Putin. The Trump administration is conducting mediation activities between Russia and Ukraine in order to end the war in Ukraine.
“Your president has a long history with President Putin and has the ability to advise him, which is very useful in this situation. They have been friends for a long time and have the necessary level of relationship to discuss such issues,” Coale said, according to state news agency Belta.
