Belarus on Thursday freed 52 political prisoners, including an EU staff member, journalists, and dissidents — in a release mediated by the United States as Minsk seeks closer ties with President Donald Trump.
Tens of thousands of Belarusians took to the streets in 2020 to protest what they called a sham presidential election in which Alexander Lukashenko secured himself a sixth term.
Many were detained during a brutal crackdown and later prosecuted on what rights groups denounced as politically motivated charges.
Trump has been pushing Lukashenko to free the more than 1,000 political prisoners rights groups say are still behind bars.
Among those released on Thursday were Mikola Statkevich, 69, a veteran dissident who stood against Lukashenko in a 2010 presidential contest, said rights group Vyasna. He had been in jail for five years.
Also freed was a staff member with the EU’s delegation in Minsk and nine journalists and bloggers, including a reporter for US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
“The United States welcomes the continued release of political prisoners in Belarus following President Trump’s engagement,” said a White House official.
Brussels welcomed the release of its employee.
“I’m glad our colleague Mikalai Khilo is among those freed,” said EU chief Ursula von der Leyen. “Our work to free all political prisoners continues.”
– 1,000 still in jail –
Belarusian rights groups said more than a dozen people with foreign citizenship were among those released, including Lithuanian, Latvian, Polish, German, French and British citizens.
Most of those released had crossed the border into EU member Lithuania, where they were greeted by exiled opposition figures.
Images showed the men being released sitting on a bus at the border, their heads recently shaven.
But Statkevich appeared to have decided to return to Belarus, despite his wife and allies attempting for hours to convince him to cross, independent outlet Zerkalo reported, citing his party member Evgeniy Vilskiy.
“He refused. He believes that Lukashenko does not determine his fate,” Vilskiy told Zerkalo, adding that the activist was taken away in an unknown direction by unidentified masked men afterwards.
Lithuanian border guard confirmed to state broadcaster LRT that one person went back, without revealing their identity.
There was no official confirmation from Belarus, where Statkevich potentially may face a renewed jail sentence.
In January, AFP spoke to Statkevich’s wife, Marina Adamovich, in Minsk.
“I have the best husband in the world, with a capital H,” she said, adding: “My God, I wait for him every minute.”
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda wrote on X on Thursday that he was “deeply grateful” for Washington and Trump’s involvement in the release.
Lithuania has become a haven for Belarusians who have fled their country since 2020.
“More than 1,000 political prisoners still remain in Belarusian prisons and we cannot stop until they see freedom!” Nauseda added.
A Trump official, deputy special envoy John Coale, was in Minsk on Thursday, where he handed Lukashenko a personal letter from Trump, including birthday wishes.
Coale said the US was lifting sanctions on the country’s state airline, Belavia, in images broadcast on Belarusian state TV.
The White House later clarified it would be a “limited relief package” that would allow Belavia to “service and buy components for its existing fleet, which includes Boeing aircraft”.
In June, 14 political prisoners were released from prison, including Sergei Tikhanovsky, the husband of exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.
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