Belarus releases 14 political prisoners, including former presidential hopeful and key opposition figure Siarhei Tsikhanouski

Opposition politician Siarhei Tsikhanouski — one of the most prominent symbols of Belarus’s protest movement in 2020 — has been released after spending just over five years in a penal colony. The development followed a visit to Minsk by Keith Kellogg, special envoy of U.S. President Donald Trump. Tsikhanouski has already departed Belarus, according to a report by independent outlet Nasha Niva.

In total, 14 political prisoners were released. Among them were former Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Ihar Karnei, teacher Natallia Dulina, anarchist activist Akikhiro Hayeuski-Hanada, Halina Krasnianskaya, Kiryl Balakhonau, and businessman Siarhei Sheleh. All were transported out of Belarus to Lithuania.

A video shared by Nasha Niva shows Tsikhanouski hugging his wife for the first time after his release.

Why Tsikhanouski was targeted

In 2019, Siarhei Tsikhanouski launched a YouTube channel called Country for Life («Страна для жизни»), where he openly criticized the Lukashenko regime. In spring 2020, he announced his intention to run in the presidential election scheduled for August 9. After the authorities refused to register his candidacy, his wife, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, entered the race in his place, eventually becoming the main opposition candidate challenging President Alexander Lukashenko.

Tsikhanouski was arrested on May 29, 2020, during a campaign event where he was collecting signatures for Sviatlana’s nomination. When mass protests erupted in August following the disputed election, Sviatlana emerged as a symbol of peaceful resistance to Lukashenko’s rule, while her husband remained in jail. Human rights organizations including Amnesty International recognized Tsikhanouski as a political prisoner.
In December 2021, Tsikhanouski was sentenced to 18 years in a high-security penal colony under four politically motivated charges: organizing mass unrest, inciting social hatred, obstructing the work of the Central Election Commission, and organizing actions that grossly violate public order. He was later given an additional 18 months for allegedly defying the prison administration.

Lukashenko has publicly admitted that Tsikhanouski’s arrest was made on his direct orders. He accused the opposition figure of attempting to stage a “Maidan”-style uprising in Belarus, a reference to the Revolution of Dignity that took place in Ukraine in 2013-2014.

Since 2020, Belarus has seen a significant rise in political repression. Thousands of protesters, opposition figures, and journalists have been thrown behind bars, with human rights group Viasna estimating that Belarus currently holds over 1,100 political prisoners. The most prominent figures still in Lukashenko’s prisons include opposition figures Maria Kalesnikava (sentenced to 11 years in prison), Viktar Babaryka (sentenced to 14 years) and Babaryka's son Eduard (sentenced to 10 years).

The international community — including the EU and U.S. — have imposed sanctions on Lukashenko’s regime, demanding the release of political detainees and a return to free and fair elections.

Lukashenko “won” a sham election in January this year, securing a sweeping “victory” with 87.6% of the vote. The “win” marked the seventh presidential election “triumph” for the 70-year-old Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since 1994. With this latest claimed victory, Lukashenko is poised to remain in power until at least 2030. The United States, France, Poland, Ukraine, Germany, Norway and multiple other countries have officially rejected the results of the election.