Belarusian activists Ales Bialiatski, Nobel Peace Prize winner 2022, and Maria Kolesnikova were released from prison, human rights organizations announced, after President Alexander Lukashenko authorized the release of 123 prisoners, in exchange for the lifting of US sanctions.
The release of the detainees was advanced by the state agency Belta, information already confirmed by the opposition and human rights groups, such as the non-governmental organization (NGO) Viasna.
Shortly before Lukashenko’s decision became known, the United States announced that it would lift some trade sanctions against Belarus, particularly on the potash sector, in the latest sign of easing relations between Washington and the isolated autocracy.
Lukashenko pardoned “123 citizens from different countries” after these discussions with the United States, announced the Poul Pervogo account, affiliated with the Belarusian presidency, on the Telegram platform, without providing the names of those freed.
US special envoy for Belarus John Coale met on Friday and Saturday, December 13, with the country’s authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, for talks in the Belarusian capital, Minsk.
A close ally of Russia, Belarus has faced Western isolation and sanctions for years.
Lukashenko has ruled the nation of 9.5 million people with an iron fist for more than three decades, and the country has been repeatedly sanctioned by Western countries, both for its crackdown on human rights and for allowing Moscow to use its territory in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Belarus, which seeks to improve relations with Washington, has released hundreds of prisoners since July 2024.