Political prisoner Maria Kolesnikova has been released in Belarus, reports the Zerkalo newspaper with reference to the opposition activist’s sister, Tatiana Homich.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Beliatski was also released. According to the human rights movement “Viasna”, he spent 1613 days behind bars.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that among those released are five Ukrainian citizens. “thanks to the active role of the United States and the cooperation of our intelligence agencies are now returning to freedom about a hundred people, including five Ukrainians,” he wrote in his Telegram channel.
In general, according to the telegram channel “Pool of the First,” run by the press service of Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian leader of Belarus pardoned 123 prisoners, convicted “for committing crimes of various kinds – espionage, terrorist and extremist activities.” The exact list of those released has not yet been made public.
According to the report, this decision was taken within the framework of agreements with U.S. President Donald Trump and in connection with the cancellation of sanctions against Belaruskali.
Earlier it became known that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is discussing with the Belarusian authorities the possibility of rapid release of at least 100 political prisoners. This is reported by Reuters, citing three sources with knowledge of the situation.
It is noted that the dialogue is being conducted “within the framework of rapprochement between the United States and its ally Russia.”
The agency specifies that “although the authoritarian state has released dozens of prisoners in several stages since President Donald Trump took office in January, U.S. officials want to secure the release of more than 100 inmates as part of a single agreement.”
U.S. officials told the agency that “the Trump administration’s engagement with Belarus is part of a longer-term, broader strategy to remove Minsk from Moscow’s geopolitical orbit.” In their view, “even a small shift to the West would be a strategic victory, given that Belarus has long been a constant source of irritation for NATO and a staunch ally of Russia.”