Belarus opposition leader's husband Sergei Tikhanovsky freed from prison
The husband of Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has been unexpectedly released from prison in Belarus, along with other political prisoners.Sergei Tikhanovsky has been moved to Lithuania and has been being reunited with his wife who lives in exile in the capital Vilnius.It is understood at least 10 prisoners have been released in total, including the former RFE journalist Ihar Karnei.The sudden release came as US special envoy Keith Kellogg visited Minsk on Saturday and held a meeting with Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko.
'A performance and a sham': Belarusian opposition denounces election
Footage on social media shared by Tikhanovskaya's representatives show the couple smiling and hugging and Tikhanovsky appears to have lost a lot of weight in custody. "My husband … is free! It's hard to describe the joy in my heart," Tikhanovskaya wrote on X.Thanking Donald Trump, Kellogg and "all European allies" for their efforts to get her husband released, she added: "We're not done. 1150 political prisoners remain behind bars. All must be released."The other released prisoners include five Belarusian nationals and Japanese, Polish and Swedish citizens, according to Tikhanovskaya's office. In a statement on X, the Lithuanian foreign minister said the 14 political prisoners were receiving care in Lithuania. Maria Kolesnikova, one of the best known opposition leaders who was jailed after the mass protests of 2020, is still in prison, her sister confirmed.Tikhanovskaya stood in the August 2020 elections after her husband, former blogger and presidential candidate Tikhanovsky, was taken into custody. He was jailed for 18 years in 2021.His wife ran in his place and claimed victory in the polls, which were widely thought to be rigged by supporters of Lukashenko, but she was forced into exile with her children the day after the vote. She has since led efforts to resist Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994.Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians are estimated to have left their country since the brutal crackdown on widespread opposition protests in 2020.Tens of thousands of people have been arrested in the country in the past five years for political reasons, according to human rights group Viasna.
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Belarus opposition leader Siarhei Tsikhanouski freed from jail after rare visit by top US envoy
A jailed opposition leader in Belarus has been freed and is now in Lithuania. Siarhei Tsikhanouski was released along with 13 other political prisoners following talks between Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Keith Kellogg, who is President Trump 's envoy for Ukraine. Mr Kellogg became the highest-ranking US official in years to visit Belarus, which is a close ally of Russia. Mr Tsikhanouski, a blogger and activist, was arrested after announcing he would run for the presidency against Mr Lukashenko in the 2020 election. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison the following year after a court found him guilty of organising mass unrest and of inciting social hatred. After he was detained, his wife Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya ran in his place and she became an opposition leader who is now in exile in Lithuania. Although Mr Lukashenko was officially declared the winner of the election, the result was denounced by the opposition and the West as a sham. On Saturday, a video on Ms Tsikhanouskaya's social media showed Mr Tsikhanouski getting out of a minibus and smiling despite his emaciated appearance. He and his wife hugged as their supporters clapped. She said: "My husband is free. It's difficult to describe the joy in my heart." She thanked Mr Trump, Mr Kellogg and "all European allies" for their efforts in getting him released. But she added her team's work was "not finished", with more than 1,100 political prisoners still locked up in Belarus. The 14 who were freed on Saturday included five Belarus nationals as well as three Poles, two Latvians, two Japanese citizens, one Estonian and one Swede. Among those released was Ihar Karnei, a former journalist at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 'Free world needs you' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X the release was "fantastic news and a powerful symbol of hope for all the political prisoners suffering under the brutal Lukashenka (sic) regime". "The free world needs you, Siarhei!", Poland's foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on X. At the meeting between Mr Lukashenko and Mr Kellogg in the Belarusian capital Minsk, the pair hugged. Mr Lukashenko said: "I really hope that our conversation will be very sincere and open. Otherwise, what is the point of meeting? "If we are clever and cunning in front of each other, we will not achieve results. You have made a lot of noise in the world with your arrival." Mr Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, secured a seventh term in office following an election in January this year that the opposition called a farce. It was not immediately clear whether Mr Kellogg's visit might pave the way for the lifting of some US sanctions against Belarus. They were imposed over the crackdown on the 2020 protests and Mr Lukashenko's support of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Belarus opposition leader's husband Sergei Tikhanovsky freed from prison
The husband of Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has been unexpectedly released from prison in Belarus, along with other political Tikhanovsky has been moved to Lithuania and has been being reunited with his wife who lives in exile in the capital is understood at least 10 prisoners have been released in total, including the former RFE journalist Ihar sudden release came as US special envoy Keith Kellogg visited Minsk on Saturday and held a meeting with Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko. 'A performance and a sham': Belarusian opposition denounces election Footage on social media shared by Tikhanovskaya's representatives show the couple smiling and hugging and Tikhanovsky appears to have lost a lot of weight in custody. "My husband … is free! It's hard to describe the joy in my heart," Tikhanovskaya wrote on Donald Trump, Kellogg and "all European allies" for their efforts to get her husband released, she added: "We're not done. 1150 political prisoners remain behind bars. All must be released."The other released prisoners include five Belarusian nationals and Japanese, Polish and Swedish citizens, according to Tikhanovskaya's office. In a statement on X, the Lithuanian foreign minister said the 14 political prisoners were receiving care in Lithuania. Maria Kolesnikova, one of the best known opposition leaders who was jailed after the mass protests of 2020, is still in prison, her sister stood in the August 2020 elections after her husband, former blogger and presidential candidate Tikhanovsky, was taken into custody. He was jailed for 18 years in wife ran in his place and claimed victory in the polls, which were widely thought to be rigged by supporters of Lukashenko, but she was forced into exile with her children the day after the vote. She has since led efforts to resist Lukashenko, who has been in power since of thousands of Belarusians are estimated to have left their country since the brutal crackdown on widespread opposition protests in of thousands of people have been arrested in the country in the past five years for political reasons, according to human rights group Viasna.
The Guardian
5 hours ago
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Belarus opposition leader freed from jail after pardon, human rights group says
One of the leaders of Belarus's opposition movement, Syarhei Tsikhanouski, has been released from jail after being pardoned, the Belarusian human rights group Viasna has said. His wife, Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya, who took over the opposition cause after his jailing, on Saturday shared a video of him smiling and embracing her after his release with the caption: 'FREE'. More details soon …
