VILINIRA, Lithuania (AP) – Belarus released 52 political prisoners on Thursday. It has announced that the United States is lifting sanctions against national airlines in isolated countries.
That’s Belarus, an intimate ally of Russia Repeated slaps at Western sanctions To crack down on human rights and enable Moscow to use its territory in 2022 invasions of Ukraine. That president, Alexander Kashenko I ruled the country Of the 9.5 million people with iron fist for over 30 years, hundreds of people, including dissidents, opposition and journalists, have been behind the bar.
For more than a year, however, Lukashenko has been trying to correct its relations with the West in the hopes of mitigating sanctions and the country’s international isolation. He has it regularly Released prisoner As a way to gain favor.
June, Belarus Freed siarhei tsikhanouski13 after a visit by the husband of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, a leading opposition leader and exiled opposition leader, and senior envoys to US President Donald Trump.
Shortly before his release on Thursday, Belarusian state media posted a video of US envoy John Kohl, who announced that Washington had lifted sanctions on Belarusian national airlines in Bellavia. The airline was approved by the European Union, the US and others after Belarus’ flight controllers landed a commercial jet moving from Greece to Lithuania in Minsk. Authorities were arrested when the plane landed. Raman PlatazevichA dissident journalist on board.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Concessions from the US come the next day Poland was criticized Invasion of Russian drone territory – some from Belarus – what Western officials called an act of attack. The NATO jet was scrambled and shot down some of the drones. The Russian and Belarusian troops are Gather for the war game It is scheduled to start on Friday.
Trump, a major military force in NATO, said, “What is Russia violating Polish airspace with drones? We’re going here!” on his true social platform.
Tsikhanouskaya, a Belarusian opposition leader in exile, warned that lifting sanctions could create new leverage in both Minsk and Moscow.
“I understand that this is part of the transaction,” she told The Associated Press. “However, lifting sanctions without systematic changes in the country could open a loophole that both the Lukashenko regime and Russia use to avoid sanctions.”
One prisoner refuses to go to Lithuania
Veteran opposition activist Mikalai Stackevich, one of the prisoners released Thursday, refused to go to Lithuania. Lithuania told the Associated Press to someone who spoke with the opposition and another person who spoke with his wife. They spoke on condition of anonymity and discussed sensitive issues.
They said the 69-year-old stood on the Norman land between Lithuania and Belarus. He repeatedly tried to return to Belarus, but the border guard blocked his path. Previously, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the prisoners had safely crossed to his country.
Stackevich, one of Lukashenko’s most prominent and charismatic enemies, tried to run for president in 2010, but was found guilty of organizing a massive riot and sentenced to six years. Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience, and in 2015 he was released under pressure from the US.
Statkevich was arrested again before the 2020 election, again committed the crime of organizing a massive riot, and was sentenced to another 14 years. He has been in Incommunicado since February 2023.
Among those released was Ihar Losik, a journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a US government-funded broadcaster, according to human rights group Viasna. The 33-year-old was convicted of “organizing mass riots, participating in mass disability, inciting social hatred, inciting social hatred and several other charges,” according to the broadcaster. He was sentenced to 15 years in December 2021.
The prisoners included 14 foreigners, six Lithuanians, two Latvians, two Pauls, two Germans, one French citizen and one British citizen, according to the Belarusian presidential press.
“I am deeply grateful to President @Realdonaldtrump, both in the US and personally, for my continued efforts to free political prisoners. Nauseda wrote in X. He said the prisoners remained behind barbed wire, windows, and constant fear.
According to Viasna, almost 1,200 political prisoners remain behind a bar in Belarus.
Lukashenko has long been robbing the objections
Lukashenko mercilessly cracked down on the opposition Independent mediaespecially after tens of thousands of people It was poured into the street A widely seen vote as equipped to protest his reelection in August 2020. They were the biggest protest in the country’s history.
Subsequent crackdowns saw tens of thousands of people detain and many were beaten by police. Prominent opposition figures either fled the country or were imprisoned.
Lukashenko has since extended his rules for the 7th term Following the January 2025 election, the opposition parties have been a farce.
Trump and Lukashenko spoke last month about the release of more prisoners as Belarusian leaders tried to correct their ties with the West.
Trump’s Deputy Ukrainian Envoy, Kohl, met with Lukashenko in the Belarus capital on Thursday, where he announced the lifting of sanctions against Bellavia.
Founded in 1996, Bellavia is Belarus’ only national airline. In addition to impose post-release sanctions on the plane to arrest Pratazevic, EU leaders banned Beravia from EU airspace and airports, leading European airlines to avoid Belarus’ airspace.
As a result, Bellavia reduced its fleet from 29 aircraft to 14 aircraft.
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Karmanau reported from Barcelona, Spain. Dasha Litvinova of Tallinn, Estonia, and Katie Marie Davis of Manchester, England.
