Belarus releases 123 prisoners including opposition leaders after US lifts sanctions | Belarus
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has released 123 prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski and leading opposition figure Maria Kalesnikava, after the United States lifted sanctions on Belarusian potash, a key export.
The announcement comes after two days of discussions with an envoy from US President Donald Trump, the latest diplomatic initiative since the Trump administration began negotiations with the autocratic leader.
Saturday’s prisoner release, the largest since talks began, is part of a broader rapprochement that Lukashenko’s regime is attempting with the West. A close ally of Russia and its President Vladimir Putin, Minsk is largely isolated from European and other Western states due to its poor human rights record and brutal repression of popular protests.
The gradual détente is part of what U.S. officials told Reuters is an attempt to move him out of Putin’s sphere of influence, a move the Belarusian opposition has expressed doubts about.
The announcement of this release, which included opposition figures and human rights activists, was greeted with fanfare. Bialiatski, co-winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, is a human rights defender who defended the interests of political prisoners before being imprisoned himself in July 2021.
Kalesnikava, one of three women who led protests against Lukashenko in 2020, as well as Viktar Babaryka, who was arrested in 2020 while trying to run against Lukashenko in a presidential election, were also released.
The health of many prisoners 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 the role it played in facilitating her release.
“She told me that she was very happy to be released, that she was grateful to the United States and Trump for their efforts in leading the process, and to all the countries involved,” Khomich told Reuters.
Relatives of the prisoners gathered outside the US embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, where some of them are expected to be taken from Belarus. Ukrainian authorities said 114 civilians, including Ukrainian and Belarusian citizens, had been transferred to Ukraine.
Trump’s envoy to Belarus, John Coale, told reporters in Minsk that the United States would lift sanctions on potash, “in accordance with President Trump’s instructions.”
The US and EU imposed sanctions on Belarus after the government cracked down on popular protests following disputed elections in 2020, which resulted in the mass detention and torture of political opponents.
Further sanctions were imposed in 2022 after Belarus allowed Russia to use its territory to invade Ukraine.
Belarusian opposition figures thanked Trump for his efforts and said the prisoners’ release was proof of the effectiveness of the sanctions regime against the autocratic government. They called for EU sanctions to be maintained, which exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said were essential to “enable democratic transition and ensure accountability”.
Lukashenko has denied holding political prisoners, instead saying those incarcerated were “bandits” and opponents of the state. The Belarusian human rights organization Viasna, banned in the country, said 1,227 political prisoners remained in jail.
Coale, in statements published by Belarusian state media, said Lukashenko could contribute to negotiations with Putin. The Trump administration has initiated mediation efforts between Russia and Ukraine to end the war in Ukraine.
“Your president has a long history with President Putin and has the ability to advise him. That is very helpful in this situation. They are long-time friends and have the level of relationship to discuss these issues,” Coale said, according to the official Belta news agency.
