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Belarus Frees Opposition Leader Tsikhanouski After U.S. Envoy Visit

Pardoning Tsikhanouski and 13 others follows U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg’s visit to Minsk, highlighting that over 1,150 political prisoners remain behind bars

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Belarus opposition leader Syarhei Tsikhanouski greets his wife Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya after, she said that, he was released from prison in this screengrab taken from a social media video released on June 21, 2025. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya via X/via REUTERS
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Overview

  • President Alexander Lukashenko issued a pardon for Siarhei Tsikhanouski, jailed since 2020 on politically motivated charges, along with 13 other detainees
  • The releases came after U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg met with Lukashenko in Minsk to press for prisoner freedom and improve Belarus’s ties with the West
  • All freed individuals were transferred to Lithuania, where they received medical care and reunited with family members
  • Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya publicly thanked President Donald Trump, U.S. envoys and European allies for their roles in securing her husband’s release
  • Despite more than 300 political prisoners being released since July 2024, human rights groups warn that over 1,150 remain incarcerated in Belarus