VILNIUS: Belarus freed 52 prisoners, including an EU employee, on Thursday following an appeal from US President Donald Trump. The prisoners and the US delegation that negotiated their release traveled to Lithuania, according to the US embassy in Vilnius.
Trump had urged Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, to release what the US leader described as “hostages.” In exchange for this gesture, Washington will provide sanctions relief to Belarus’s national airline, Belavia, allowing it to service and buy components for its aircraft, including Boeings, the US embassy said.
Thawing Ties with the US
This was the largest group of prisoners pardoned by Lukashenko, who is seeking to repair relations with the United States after years of isolation and sanctions. However, the number was far short of the 1,300 to 1,400 prisoners whose release Trump had called for.
Washington hinted at reopening its embassy in Minsk. One of the released prisoners, Mikola Statkevich, refused to enter Lithuania and remained in Belarus. The exiled opposition has argued that freed political prisoners should have the right to stay in Belarus rather than being subjected to what they consider forced deportations.
John Coale, who led the US delegation, said he hoped for the release of all prisoners and that he believed Lukashenko wanted to change. Among those released was Ihar Losik, a journalist sentenced in 2021 to 15 years in a penal colony. The US embassy in Vilnius could not confirm if other prominent critics of Lukashenko’s rule, such as human rights campaigner Ales Bialiatski or opposition leader Maria Kalesnikava, were among those released.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled opposition leader, said the release covered only 4% of those designated as political prisoners, calling it a “trade in human lives.” She urged the European Union to maintain sanctions on Belarus until democracy is established. Belarus’ state news agency, Belta, reported that the released prisoners included 14 foreign nationals from Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, France, Britain, and Germany.
Coale, Trump’s envoy, also conveyed Trump’s desire to reopen the US embassy in Minsk and praised Lukashenko for seeking a peace deal in Ukraine. Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for more than three decades, said his country’s main task is to “stand with Trump and help him in his mission to establish peace.”
