#Belarus

#USA

Alexander Lukashenko released 52 political prisoners, including 14 foreigners convicted in Belarus

2025.09.11

In exchange, the US lifted sanctions on «Belavia»

Alexander Lukashenko released 52 prisoners, including 14 foreigners convicted in Belarus «for espionage, participation in extremist and terrorist activities, and other criminal acts». These include six citizens of Lithuania, two citizens of Latvia, Poland, and Germany, one citizen of France, and one from the United Kingdom.

The President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, reported on the social network X that all political prisoners «safely crossed the Lithuanian border from Belarus on Thursday, leaving behind barbed wire, window bars, and constant fear». He also noted that more than 1000 political prisoners still remain in Belarusian prisons. «We will not stop until they are free», — he stated in his message.

Nausėda published a photo with Elena Romanauskene, who was detained last year when she was visiting relatives in Belarus and accused of espionage. The court sentenced Elena to six years in a penal colony.

US representative John Cole announced the lifting of sanctions on the Belarusian airline «Belavia» during a meeting with Alexander Lukashenko. «I want to officially state here now that we have lifted sanctions on „Belavia“. This is official», — said Cole in a video published by the Telegram channel «Pul Pervogo». Sources from The New York Times mentioned the possible lifting of sanctions on the airline back in February, after the release of the first political prisoners by Minsk.

The human rights center «Viasna» learned the names of several released individuals. Nikolai Statkevich, a 2010 presidential candidate in Belarus and leader of the Social Democrats, was released. He was detained even before the 2020 elections and later sentenced to 14 years in a penal colony. Statkevich was held in total isolation.

Igor Losik, the author of one of the most popular Belarusian Telegram channels in 2020, «Belarus of the Brain», was also released. He was sentenced to 15 years in a penal colony.

The names of the other released individuals are not yet known. As «Euroradio» writes, the main political prisoner Maria Kolesnikova is not among those released.

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