Belarus frees 25 political prisoners in return for US sanctions relief

The Trump administration said more releases would be secured soon amid improved US-Belarus relations.

Journalist Andrei Alyaksandrau (right) arrives in Vilnius, Lithuania, after being released from prison with two dozen other political detainees [File: Janis Laizans/Reuters]

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.

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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.

特朗普政府表示，随着美白关系的改善，很快就会有更多人获释。

记者安德烈·阿利亚克桑德劳（右）与其他二十多名政治犯一同获释后抵达立陶宛维尔纽斯。[图片：Janis Laizans/路透社]

周三，白俄罗斯释放了 25 名政治犯，与此同时，美国解除了对这个与世隔绝的国家的两家公司的制裁。美国特使约翰·科尔在最近一次访问明斯克后宣布了这一消息。

周三的释放标志着科尔与白俄罗斯总统亚历山大·卢卡申科（俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京的亲密盟友）之间长达一年多的谈判达到了高潮。

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获释者包括人权活动家、政治活动家、记者和律师。

周三，科尔在立陶宛首都维尔纽斯（获释囚犯被带到那里）对记者说，他预计大约一个月后会再次前往维尔纽斯，希望届时能看到“数百人”获释。

美国特使在社交媒体上赞扬了美国总统唐纳德·特朗普，称他“致力于直接外交并取得了成果”，并表示本届政府将继续“改善美白关系”。

特朗普曾委派科尔负责确保数百人获释。今年3月，白俄罗斯政府赦免了250名囚犯。

自 1994 年以来一直掌管这个前苏联加盟共和国的卢卡申科，长期以来因镇压反对派和支持俄罗斯在乌克兰的战争而受到西方的排斥。

就在科尔向卢卡申科承诺美国银行将归还数千万美元被冻结的白俄罗斯资产的第二天，这些资产被释放了。

美国特使早前表示，美国将解除对油漆和工业涂料制造商 Lakokraska 以及负责林业、纸浆和造纸行业的国有工业企业 Bellesbumprom 的制裁。

欧盟外交与安全政策首席发言人克里斯蒂安·维甘德表示，这25名囚犯的获释是美国努力的结果。

“我们欢迎这一举措，”他在X上写道。“仍有800多人被任意拘留在恶劣的条件下。白俄罗斯政权应该立即无条件释放所有政治犯。”

被捕者包括记者和音乐家。

白俄罗斯人权监督组织“维亚斯纳”（Viasna）表示，周三获释的许多人此前都被判处数年监禁。该组织此前被政府宣布为极端组织并予以取缔。

该组织公布的获释人员名单中包括记者安德烈·阿利亚克桑德劳，他此前因涉嫌“资助抗议活动”而被判处14年监禁。阿利亚克桑德劳于2021年被捕，他的女友伊琳娜·兹洛比娜也因同样的罪名被判处9年监禁。

阿利亚克桑德劳告诉维亚斯纳通讯社，他在被囚禁期间“为了祖国”瘦了30公斤（66磅），但他“心情很好”。他还说，他“非常高兴这近六年终于结束了”，而且他已经四年没见过兹洛比娜了——两人于2022年在审前拘留中心结婚。

与阿利亚克桑德劳一同获释的还有另外三名记者——德米特里·纳瓦日劳、基里尔·帕兹尼亚克和柳德米拉·切基娜——他们随即被驱逐回立陶宛。无国界记者组织对他们的获释表示“欣慰”，但谴责了对他们的驱逐。

流亡的政治反对派领导人斯韦特兰娜·齐哈努斯卡娅表示，她为25名获释囚犯的家属感到高兴，“他们一直在等待这一天”。她的丈夫谢尔盖·齐哈努斯基于去年获释，此前他已被监禁五年。

“每一次释放都需要付出巨大的努力，很明显，卢卡申科并不想释放所有政治犯，”她在X上写道，并指出还有数百人仍然被关押。