Belarusian prisoners celebrate release after U.S. sanctions lifted

Rumors of a large number of prisoner releases in Belarus have been circulating for days.

But no one will reveal the names on the list, or the exact number, until everyone is safely out and finally free.

A total of 123 political prisoners were released, including some of the most prominent figures among Belarusian opposition politicians, human rights activists and journalists.

Maria Kolesnikova, a protest leader with her famous red-lipped smile, is also on the release list.

A video quickly went viral on social media, showing her jumping for joy and hugging other former inmates, ecstatic about being reunited. Then, on a bus from Belarus, she thanked everyone who had helped make the moment possible.

“It’s an incredible feeling of happiness to see those people who are dear to me, to embrace them and realize that we are all free,” Martha, as she is best known, tells the camera, her lips already turning red again.

She said her first sunset after freedom was a very beautiful thing.

“But I also think about those who are not yet free, and I wait for the moment when we can all embrace it and when all of us are free.”

Also out is Viktor Babaryka, a banker who tried to run for president in 2020 but was jailed before the election began.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski was also released from a 10-year prison sentence.

All are imprisoned for opposing the authoritarian rule of Alexander Lukashenko, whose security forces suppressed massive protests in 2020 with brutal force. This is the biggest challenge to his rule.

The prisoner’s release is now the result of long and complex US-led negotiations that culminated in a two-day visit to Minsk this week by Donald Trump’s new envoy John Cole.

For Lukashenko, the engagement was a victory in itself: After years of being a political pariah in the West, he was clearly delighted to resume peace talks with the United States.

But he also got the United States to lift sanctions on potash, the country’s main export, as a further, more tangible reward. EU penalties and tougher policies remain in place.

It’s not entirely clear what Trump stands to gain from this. But Belarus is a close ally of Russia, including in its war with Ukraine, and the move comes as the United States has also been reengaging with Moscow in pursuit of a peace deal.

The dozens of prisoners Lukashenko agreed to release were always expected to come to Vilnius, Lithuania, where a group of friends, relatives and activists gathered outside the U.S. embassy in freezing temperatures to greet them.

Some were draped in the red and white flags of the Belarusian opposition.

Masha Kolesnikova’s sister, Tatsiana Khomich, who campaigned for her release for more than five years, can’t stop smiling. “I just talked to Martha,” she told me after the video call.

Kolesnikova, a professional flutist before the controversial 2020 election, spent most of her sentence in solitary confinement and even refused to write letters and phone calls to her family.

“She’s fine, she’s fine. I just want to hug her. I still can’t believe it,” her sister said.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd: a police car, its blue lights flashing, led a small convoy of other vehicles toward the gates of the U.S. Embassy.

But it’s impossible for all 123 ex-offenders to be inside. Instead, we learned that only seven foreigners were brought to Lithuania, and only Belarusian Ales Bialiatski was brought to Lithuania.

Others, including Kolesnikova, were taken from Belarus to Ukraine: from prison, into war zones.

Staying in your home country is often not an option.

“Lukashenko’s idea, who else?” was how one of opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya’s teams explained the sudden move to Ukraine. It looks like he decided to play one last power game, so the long-awaited family reunion will be postponed.

But what was the price paid for that moment? Tikhanovskaya is a friend and political ally of Masha Kolesnikova, but she has always called for maximum Western pressure on Lukashenko.

I wonder if America has gone too far.

“This is a process of negotiation. Of course, if Lukashenko is not offered anything, that is good for us because all these people are hostages of his regime. They are innocent.”

“But that’s how negotiations work,” she replied, before noting that sanctions could always be reimposed if necessary.

“President Trump now uses carrots. He can also use sticks.”

A few steps away, a man waved a huge flag, fearing Lukashenko would take more prisoners. This was not a sudden display of humanity, he said.

After spending some time at the U.S. Embassy, ​​Ales Bialjadski appeared on the street to ecstatic cheers from the crowd.

With a gaunt face and a shaved head, he still wore a blue cotton-padded jacket and admitted that after four years in prison, he felt dizzy with various sensations.

“I drove blindfolded across Belarus, from east to west, so I still can’t understand it. It was so exciting,” he shared, describing how he was woken up at 04:00 and told by prison guards to pack his things.

When I asked him what he wanted most right now, he said without hesitation: “I want to see my wife!”

I was told she was on her way.

Bialyadski’s own organization, Viasna, oversees political detention in Belarus, and the activist reminded everyone that hundreds of people like him (just less famous) have been jailed.

“It is very important for everyone to continue working for those political prisoners who are still in Belarusian prisons and to fight for their full release.”

He then raised the red and white flag from his shoulders, sending a message to Belarusians around the world.

“Optimistic and radical,” Ales Bialjadski told them, suddenly smiling. “never give up!”