Belarus frees 25 political prisoners in return for US sanctions relief

Belarus on Wednesday freed 25 political prisoners as the United States lifted sanctions on two of the reclusive country’s companies, US envoy John Coale announced after his latest visit to Minsk.

The release on Wednesday marked the culmination of a series of negotiations stretching back more than a year between Coale and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Those freed include human rights campaigners, political activists, journalists and lawyers.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, where the freed prisoners were taken, Coale said he expected to return in about a month when he hopes to see “hundreds” freed.

The US envoy praised US President Donald Trump on social media, saying his “commitment to direct diplomacy delivers results” and that the administration would continue to “improve US-Belarus relations”.

Coale had been tasked by Trump with securing the release of hundreds of people. In March, the government of Belarus released 250 prisoners following a pardon.

Lukashenko, in charge of the former Soviet state since 1994, has long been shunned by the West for repressing his opponents and supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine .

The releases came a day after Coale promised Lukashenko that US banks would return tens of millions of dollars in ⁠frozen Belarusian assets.

The US envoy earlier said that the US would lift sanctions on Lakokraska, a paint and industrial coating manufacturer, and Bellesbumprom, a state-owned industrial enterprise that oversees the forestry, pulp and paper sectors.

Christian Wigand, the European Union’s lead spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy, said the 25 prisoners were released as a result of US efforts.

“We welcome this step,” he wrote on X. “800+ individuals remain arbitrarily detained in appalling conditions. Belarus’ regime should release all political prisoners, immediately and unconditionally.”

Journalists, musicians among those arrested

The Belarusian human rights watchdog Viasna, which the government banned after declaring the group an extremist organisation, said many of those released on Wednesday had been sentenced to several years in prison.

The organisation named journalist Andrei Alyaksandrau, who had been serving a 14-year term, among those released. Alyaksandrau had been arrested in 2021 for allegedly “financing protest activities” alongside his girlfriend Iryna Zlobina, who was handed a nine-year sentence.

Alyaksandrau told Viasna he had lost 30kgs (66 pounds) while in captivity “for the motherland” but was “in a good mood”. He added that he was “very glad that these almost six years are over” and that he hadn’t seen Zlobina – whom he married in a pre-trial detention centre in 2022 – in four years.

Alongside Alyaksandrau, three other journalists – Dzmitry Navazhylau, Kiryl Pazniak and Liudmila Chekina – were released and immediately deported to Lithuania. Reporters Without Borders said it was “delighted” by their release but denounced their expulsion.

Exiled political opposition leader Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya said she was happy for the relatives of the 25 freed prisoners “who have been waiting for this day”. Her husband, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, was freed last year after spending five years in jail.

“Every release requires tremendous effort, and it is clear that [Lukashenko] does not want to release all political prisoners,” she wrote on X, noting that hundreds more remain behind bars.