Belarusian prisoners celebrate release after US lifts sanctions

Rumors of the release of two major prisoners from Belarus have been circulating for two days.

But no one revealed the names on the list, or the exact number, until all were safely out, and at last free.

In total, 123 political prisoners were released, including some of the best-known names among Belarusian opposition politicians, human rights activists and journalists.

Maria Kolesnikova, the protest leader with the famous red-lipped smile, was on the list of those released.

A video of her jumping for joy and hugging other former prisoners, overjoyed at their reunion, quickly spread across social media. Then she came again, on a bus out of Belarus, where she thanked everyone who helped make this moment happen.

“It is a feeling of incredible happiness to see those who are dear to me, to hug them and realize that we are all free,” Masha, as she became known, said to the camera, her lips red again.

She said the first sunset of her freedom was a thing of great beauty.

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

Also out is Victor Babarika, a banker who tried to run for president in 2020 but was locked up before the election even started.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Alice Bialiatski was also released from a 10-year prison sentence.

They were all jailed for opposing the authoritarian rule of Alexander Lukashenko, whose security forces crushed mass protests in 2020 with brutal force. They were the biggest challenge to his rule he had ever faced.

The release of the prisoners now is 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 special envoy, John Cole.

For Lukashenko, this connection is in itself a win: after years as a political pariah in the West, he is clearly happy to return to talks with the United States.

But he also got the dropping of US sanctions on his country’s main export product, potash, as another, more tangible reward. EU sanctions – 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 on Ukraine, and the move comes as the United States is also reengaging with Moscow, seeking a peace deal.

Dozens of prisoners whom Lukashenko had agreed to release were always expected to come here in Vilnius, Lithuania, where a crowd of friends, relatives and fellow activists gathered outside the US Embassy in the bitter cold to greet them.

Some came wrapped in the red and white Belarusian opposition flag.

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

Kolesnikova, who was a professional flute player before the disputed 2020 election, spent most of her sentence in solitary confinement, deprived even of letters and phone calls to her family.

“She’s fine, she’s good. 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, headed toward the gates of the American Embassy, ​​leading a small convoy of other vehicles.

But not all 123 former prisoners could have been inside. Instead, we learned that only seven foreign citizens were brought to Lithuania, and only Alice Bialiatski was a Belarusian.

Others, including Kolesnikova, were transferred from Belarus to Ukraine: from prison to a war zone.

Staying in their country is usually not an option.

“Lukashenko’s idea, who else?” This was how a member of opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya’s team explained the surprise diversion to Ukraine. It seems that he has decided to play one last power game, so the long-awaited family reunion will be postponed.

But what about the price paid for that moment? Tikhanovskaya is a friend and political ally of Masha Kolesnikova, but she always calls for maximum pressure on Lukashenko from the West.

She wondered: Has the United States gone too far?

“This is a negotiation process. Of course, it would be good for us if nothing was given to Lukashenko, because all these people are hostages of his regime. They are innocent.

“But this is the way the negotiations are going,” she replied, before noting that sanctions could always be re-applied if necessary.

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

A few steps away, a man waving a giant flag worried that Lukashenko would take more prisoners. This is not a sign of sudden humanity, he said.

A short time later, inside the American Embassy, ​​Ales Bialiatski took to the street amid ecstatic cheers from the crowd.

Gaunt, with his head shaved and still wearing his blue quilted prison jacket, admitted his head was spinning from all the emotions after four years in prison.

“I was taken across Belarus blindfolded, from east to west, so I still can’t get around it. This is very emotional,” he said, describing how he woke up at 04:00 and a prison guard told him to pack his bags.

When I asked him what he wanted now more than anything else, he did not hesitate: “I want to see my wife!”

I’m told she’s on her way.

Bialyatsky’s private organization, Viasna, monitors political arrests in Belarus, and the activist reminded everyone that hundreds of people like him – but less well-known – have been left behind bars.

“It is very important that everyone continues to work for the political prisoners who remain in Belarusian prisons, to strive for the full release of all of them.”

Then, he raised the red and white flag from his shoulders, bringing a message to Belarusians everywhere.

“Optimism and activity,” Ales Bialiatsky told them with a surprised smile. “never give up!”