Nobel Peace Prize laureate and others who took on Belarus’ president are among the freed prisoners

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Belarusian officials on Saturday released 123 prisonersincluding Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski and leading opposition figures Maria Kolesnikova and Viktar Babaryka, as part of a deal with Washington that lifted US sanctions on the country’s vital fertilizer exports.

Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian president of Belarus, a close ally of Russia. ruled the nation 9.5 million with an iron fist for over thirty years. Belarus confirmed many times by the West for its excessive crackdown on dissent and allowing Moscow to use its territory to invade Ukraine. Belarus has released hundreds of prisoners since July 2024 in a move seen as an effort to secure a reprieve from Lukashenko’s bruising restrictions.

Here’s a look at some of the prominent prisoners released on Saturday and others still in prison:

Ales Bialiatski and Viasna rights activists

Human rights defender Bialiatski won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 together with leading Russian rights group Memorial and Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties. He was deemed worthy of the award while he was in prison awaiting trial. He was later convicted of smuggling and financing acts that violated public order – charges widely condemned as politically motivated – and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The 63-year-old man, who founded Belarus’ oldest and most prominent human rights group Viasna, was imprisoned in a penal colony in Gorky, a facility notorious for beatings and hard labor.

Speaking to the Associated Press, Bialiatski said his release after 1,613 days in prison was a surprise and that he “felt like I had jumped out of icy water into a normal, warm room.”

Looking pale and emaciated but energetic, Bialiatski vowed to continue his human rights work, saying, “More than a thousand political prisoners remain behind bars in Belarus just because they chose freedom. And of course, I am their voice.”

Another Viasna activist, Uladzimir Labkovich, who was involved in the same case as Bialiatki, was also released.

Opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova

Kolesnikova was an important figure who helped organize the event. Mass protests shook Belarus in 2020. He was a close ally Sviatlana TsikhanouskayaOpposition leader who was forced into exile after challenging Lukashenko in the 2020 elections.

Kolesnikova, known for her close-cropped hair and gesture of forming a heart with her hands, became an even greater symbol of resistance in September 2020 when Belarusian authorities tried to deport her. While being taken to the Ukrainian border, he tore up his passport and returned to Belarus, where authorities detained him again.

The 43-year-old professional flautist was convicted in 2021 of charges that included conspiracy to seize power and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He became seriously ill behind bars and underwent surgery.

“An incredible feeling of happiness!” he said after his release on Saturday. “Seeing the eyes of the people I care about, hugging them, realizing that we are all free people now. At the same time, I think about the people who are not yet free, and I can’t wait for the moment when we can hug each other.”

Former presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka

Viktar Babaryka, a banker and philanthropist, entered politics in 2020 and tried to challenge Lukashenko in the presidential election. He quickly gained widespread popularity, but was refused registration for the race and imprisoned less than two months before the vote for what he denounced as “medieval oppressions”.

Babaryka, 62, is after all convicted on corruption charges This decision was widely seen as politically motivated, and he was sentenced to 14 years in prison in July 2021. At the time, the US embassy condemned the decision as a “brutal fraud” and said it showed Lukashenko’s “regime will stop at nothing to retain power”.

Lawyer Maxim Znak, who was in Babaryka’s team and was convicted along with her, was also released on Saturday.

Well-known journalist Maryna Zolatava

Several journalists were released on Saturday, including Maryna Zolatava, editor of the popular independent news site Tut.by.

Zolatava was arrested in May 2021 and later sentenced to 12 years in prison after being convicted on charges of inciting and distributing material encouraging actions aimed at harming national security, which authorities have widely used against independent journalists and opposition supporters. International journalism organizations, including Reporters Without Borders, have persistently called for his release.

Still in prison: Journalist Poczobut and others

Andrzej Poczobut, a reporter for the influential Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and a leading figure in Belarus’ Polish minority, was arrested in March 2021.

Now 52 years old, he was convicted in February 2023 of “damaging national security” and “hurting hatred” for his coverage of the protests that erupted after the 2020 vote and sentence to eight years in prison.

Despite concerns for his health, he was sent to a harsh maximum security prison and repeatedly refused to ask Lukashenko for clemency.

Others still behind bars include Viasna activists Marfa Rabkova and Valiantsin Stefanovic, and Babaryka’s son Eduard, who helped run his father’s presidential campaign.