Belarus Frees Over 120 Political Prisoners As US Lifts Key Sanctions
In the biggest prisoner release in years, Belarusian authorities have freed **123 detainees**, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate and human‑rights defender **Ales Bialiatski** and prominent opposition leader **Maria Kolesnikova**, after talks with a US delegation led by special envoy **John Coale**. The move coincides with Washington’s decision to lift tough sanctions on Belarus’s lucrative **potash** sector, a vital fertilizer ingredient that is one of the country’s main export earners.
Deal Tied To Potash Sanctions Relief
Coale announced in Minsk that the US had agreed to remove sanctions on Belarusian potash exports following two days of negotiations with President **Alexander Lukashenko**, describing the prisoner release as “an important step” toward improving relations. Belarus is among the world’s largest suppliers of potash, and previous US and EU measures had severely hit its export revenues after the contested 2020 election and Minsk’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Human‑rights groups say that since July 2024, Minsk has now released **over 430 political prisoners** in stages, each linked to partial sanctions relief or mediation efforts by Western governments.
Who Has Been Freed?
Among those released on 13 December are **Bialiatski**, the 63‑year‑old founder of rights group Viasna who won the **2022 Nobel Peace Prize** while imprisoned, and Kolesnikova, a central figure in the 2020 pro‑democracy protests who was serving an 11‑year sentence. Also freed is former presidential hopeful **Viktar Babaryka**, arrested in 2020 while preparing to challenge Lukashenko, along with dozens of activists, journalists and trade‑union leaders convicted on politically motivated charges.
Ukraine’s prisoner‑of‑war coordination centre said **114 of the 123** freed individuals were transferred to Ukraine, including both Ukrainian citizens and Belarusian political prisoners, where they will receive medical treatment and can relocate onwards to **Poland or Lithuania** if they wish.
Reactions From Families And Rights Groups
Families and supporters gathered outside the US embassy in **Vilnius, Lithuania**, and at border crossings to welcome released prisoners, many of whom had spent more than five years behind bars with little or no contact with relatives. Former UN special rapporteur **Anaïs Marin** called it “a very emotional moment”, noting that numerous detainees had been held incommunicado, denied lawyers and kept in harsh conditions amounting to serious human‑rights violations.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it felt “profound relief and heartfelt joy” at Bialiatski’s freedom but urged Minsk to **free all remaining political prisoners**, insisting that genuine reconciliation requires both releases and accountability for past abuses.
What It Means For Belarus–West Relations
Analysts say Lukashenko is using prisoner releases to **rebuild bridges with the West** and reduce his dependence on Russian President Vladimir Putin, after years of isolation following the 2020 crackdown and Belarus’s role in Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Former Belarusian diplomat **Pavel Slunkin** told Al Jazeera that the move could mark a “turning point” in Minsk’s relations with Washington, though opposition figures remain wary that the regime may continue to repress dissent while bargaining over sanctions.
US officials say they will keep pressing for the **release of all remaining prisoners**, stressing that further easing of sanctions will depend on concrete human‑rights improvements and Belarus’s willingness to distance itself from Russia’s war, even as families celebrate a long‑awaited reunion with loved ones.
