Belarus releases 14 prisoners, including opposition politician Tsikhanouski

2025-06-21 17:45:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Belarus has released 14 prisoners, including Syarhey Tsikhanouskin, who was arrested in May 2020 while trying to run for president against authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

His wife, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya - who ran in the 2020 election in her husband's place - confirmed Tsikhanousky's release.

"My husband, Syarhey, is free! It's hard to describe the joy in my heart," she wrote on X, attaching a video of the two of them hugging to the post.

John Coale, deputy to US envoy Keith Kellogg, said in a post on X on June 21 that the release of the 14 prisoners was carried out in cooperation with the Lithuanian government.

Ihar Karney, a former journalist for the Belarusian Service of Radio Free Europe, known in Belarus as Radio Svaboda, was also released. He was arrested in 2023 and later sentenced to three years in prison on charges of “extremism,” which he denies.

Tsikhanouski had attempted to run against Lukashenko in the presidential election held in August 2020, but was arrested before the vote. His wife subsequently ran as an opposition candidate in that election.

Lukashenko was declared the winner of the election, sparking protests by tens of thousands of Belarusians who said the vote was rigged. The protests have lasted for months, with Belarusians demanding that Lukashenko – who has been in power since 1994 – step down and the country hold new elections.

The August 2020 elections were rejected as rigged by the opposition and the West, while the country, under Lukashenko, began to crack down on protesters, arresting thousands and forcing most of the main opposition figures to flee the country.

Several protesters have been killed during the crackdown, and human rights organizations say there is credible evidence of the use of torture against some of those arrested.

Lukashenko denies that the votes were rigged and has refused to negotiate with the opposition led by Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

The European Union, the United States, Canada and other countries have refused to recognize Lukashenko, 68, as the legitimate leader of Belarus and have imposed sanctions on him and senior Belarusian officials in response to vote "falsification" and the suppression of post-election protests./ REL