The mass release included former presidential candidate Siarhei Tsikhanouski, who was sentenced to 18 years in a penal colony in 2021 for organizing street protests. Tsikhanouski was detained on May 29, 2020, during a campaign event supporting his wife. Also freed were opposition figures Viktar Babaryka, Maria Kolesnikova, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski.
Tsikhanouski described harsh prison conditions, saying he was unable to see lawyers or priests and had to clean his cell four times a day. He said political prisoners are treated worse than murderers, who have televisions and more privileges. Tsikhanouski claimed that Babaryka and Kolesnikova were held in equally terrible conditions.
He refused to submit a petition for clemency because he said he had not committed the crimes he was accused of. In August 2024, Tsikhanouski first heard that preparations were underway for the release of political prisoners marked with yellow name tags. Raman Pratasevich visited Tsikhanouski in prison on January 14 and was pardoned three weeks later, after which he distanced himself from opposition activities.
In addition to the 123 political prisoners, Belarus released 52 prisoners of various nationalities after a US delegation visit to Minsk. Those freed included 14 foreign nationals: one Briton, one French, six Lithuanians, two Latvians, two Poles, and two Germans. The released British national was Julia Fenner, 52, detained in March 2024 and sentenced to seven years for participating in 2020 protests.
In return for the prisoner release, the US agreed to ease sanctions on Belarus's national airline Belavia and on Belarusian potash. John Coale, the American delegation leader, said Donald Trump told Lukashenko that Washington wants to reopen its embassy in Minsk. A Trump administration official said the US welcomed the release and would continue to seek freedom for nearly 1,300 remaining political prisoners.
' Trump has described Lukashenko as 'highly respected,' according to a source. Opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya expressed skepticism about the releases. According to Svenska Dagbladet, she described the move as an attempt to deceive democratic countries rather than a genuine change in Lukashenko's agenda.
Tsikhanouskaya, who was hosted by UN Watch at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, testified that the August 2020 presidential election was stolen and met with brutal crackdowns. She urged the international community not to normalize the regime or trade principles for convenience. Over 1,100 political prisoners remain in Belarus, according to a leading human rights organization, though a US official cited nearly 1,300, highlighting a discrepancy in the figures.
UN Watch called on Belarus to release all political prisoners and respect human rights.