Belarus releases Nobel laureate, former candidate, over 100 others
The authoritarian government of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko freed 123 political prisoners Saturday, including opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova, in exchange for relaxed sanctions on the country’s main export sector, according to state news agency Belta and the presidential press service.
Kolesnikova, one of three women to run an opposition campaign against Lukashenko, rose to prominence in 2020 leading anti-government demonstrations in protest of the election results, which had been widely disputed.
A month after the election, Kolesnikova was abducted in Minsk by masked security agents, driven to the Ukrainian border and told she could either leave the country or stand trial.
Kolesnikova refused to leave Belarus, tore up her passport to avoid expulsion and was arrested. She was found guilty in 2021 of conspiracy to overthrow the government, inciting action aimed at harming national security and creating an extremist group and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Ales Bialiatski, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Ukrainian and Russian human rights organizations in 2022, was also freed Saturday. He arrived in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, a few hours from the Belarusian border.
Bialiatski co-founded the human rights project Viasna to help political prisoners repressed by Lukashenko’s government. He was convicted in 2021 of organizing and financing “actions that grossly violate public order” and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Lukashenko, 71, has ruled Belarus since 1994, but in recent years he has tightened his grip on the country.
Tens of thousands of Belarusians poured into the streets in 2020 to challenge his rule. Lukashenko, backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, rounded up opposition figures, rights activists, academics and journalists, many of whom were beaten, tortured and imprisoned or forced into exile.
The West responded to Lukashenko’s crackdown by imposing broad sanctions on the country’s oil, tobacco and potash sectors. The European Union restricted the country’s access to European finance and insurance.
The prisoner release Saturday was the latest negotiated by the Trump administration in recent months as part of a broader effort to ease Minsk’s isolation from the world stage.
The government released opposition leader Sergei Tikhanovsky in June following a meeting in Minsk between Lukashenko and Gen. Keith Kellogg, President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine. It was the highest-level U.S. visit to Belarus since Trump’s first term.
Tikhanovsky was arrested two days after announcing his challenge to Lukashenko in the 2020 election. His wife, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, ran in his place; she has since run the opposition from exile.
At least a dozen other prominent political prisoners, including former professor Nataliia Dulina and Radio Free Europe journalist Ihar Karnei, were also released that day.
Lukashenko freed more than 50 political prisoners in September, The Associated Press reported. The Trump administration relaxed sanctions on Belavia, the country’s national airline, which has allowed it to buy parts for its planes.
The release Saturday followed days of meetings between Lukashenko and John Coale, Trump’s special envoy for Belarus. Trump has pushed Lukashenko to free up to 1,400 “hostages.”
Tikhanovskaya praised the effort, but urged Washington to use pressure as well as incentives when negotiating with Lukashenko.
“You have to understand that for Lukashenko, political prisoners are just bargaining chips,” he told Reuters. “He wants to sell political prisoners as expensively as possible.”
“It’s like revolving doors at the moment,” she said. “Some are released, twice more are detained. But we need to stop repressions fully.”
Coale said the administration is working to rebuild relations with Minsk in part because Lukashenko is close to Putin, a potential channel to advance negotiations on a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
“He helps, offers advice on what to do regarding the war,” Coale told reporters this past week. “His advice is very sound.”
Lukashenko’s “long history” with Putin is “very useful in the current situation,” he said. “They have been friends for many years and have the level of relationship needed to discuss such matters. Naturally, President Putin may accept some advice and not accept others. But it is a way to help the process.”
Former presidential candidate Viktor Babariko and journalist Marina Zolotova were also freed Saturday. Babariko’s son Eduard remains imprisoned.
All 123 prisoners were expelled from Belarus. One hundred and fourteen were deported to Ukraine, according to Viasna. Nine were sent to Lithuania.
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• Natalia Abbakumova contributed.