2 Japanese men among 14 prisoners released by Belarus

Two Japanese nationals have been released from detention in Belarus and are in good health, a Japanese government source said Sunday.
Belarusian state-run media reported Saturday that President Aleksandr Lukashenko decided to pardon 14 people, including two Japanese citizens, at the request of U.S. counterpart Donald Trump.
The two Japanese, detained in 2020 and 2024, respectively, were released on Friday and arrived in neighboring Lithuania, the source said. No further information about their identity was disclosed.
One of the two men is believed to be an individual sentenced to 16 years for joining an anti-government protest in Minsk in 2020, and the other a man detained last December for photographing an elevated highway in a southeastern region that borders Ukraine.
Also among the 14 was Siarhei Tsikhanouski, a Belarusian blogger and activist who attempted to block Lukashenko's bid for a sixth term by running in the 2020 election but was detained.
Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, held talks with Lukashenko on Saturday during his trip to Belarus, a close ally of Russia.
© KYODO

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