Belarus Frees Key Opposition Figure Siarhei Tsikhanouski Following Rare Visit From Top US Envoy
Belarus has freed Siarhei Tsikhanouski, a key dissident figure and the husband of exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, following a visit there by a senior Trump administration official, Tsikhanouskaya's team announced on Saturday. It said Tsikhanouski, a popular blogger and activist, had arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania, alongside 13 other political prisoners.
Tsikhanouski's release came just hours after the Belarusian authorities announced that the country's authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko met with Trump's Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg in Minsk. Tsikhanouski was jailed in 2020 after announcing plans to challenge Lukashenko in that year's election. Following his arrest, his wife ran in his stead, rallying large crowds in her support across the country.
Official results of the election handed Lukashenko his sixth term in office but were denounced by the opposition and the West as a sham. Amid unprecedented protests that broke out in the aftermath of the vote, Tsikhanouskaya left the country under pressure from the authorities. Her husband was later sentenced to 19-1/2 years in prison on charges of organizing mass riots.
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Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Belarus opposition leader freed from jail after US mediation
WARSAW: Belarus's top jailed opposition leader Sergei Tikhanovsky was freed alongside over a dozen other political prisoners on Saturday in a surprise release hailed as a 'symbol of hope.' His wife Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who took the mantle of the opposition after his jailing, said the United States helped broker the deal and thanked US President Donald Trump. Tikhanovsky, 46, had been imprisoned for more than five years. He planned to run against incumbent Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in the August 2020 presidential election, but was arrested and detained weeks before the vote. Svetlana — a political novice at the time of his arrest — took his place in the polls. She posted a video on Saturday of her embracing Tikhanovsky after his release with the caption: 'FREE.' 'It's hard to describe the joy in my heart,' she said in a post on X. Thirteen others were released, including Radio Liberty journalist Igor Karnei, who was arrested in 2023 and jailed for participating in an 'extremist' organization. They have now been transferred from Belarus to Lithuania, where they are receiving 'proper care,' Lithuanian foreign minister Kestutis Budrys said. The announcement came just hours after Lukashenko met US special envoy Keith Kellogg in Minsk, the highest profile visit of a US official to the authoritarian state in years. Belarus, ruled by Lukashenko since 1994, has outlawed all genuine opposition parties and is the only European country to retain the death penalty as a punishment. The eastern European country still holds over 1,000 political prisoners in its jails, according to Viasna. Swedish-Belarusian citizen Galina Krasnyanskaya, arrested in 2023 for allegedly supporting Ukraine, was also freed, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said. The release comes amid a broader warming of relations between the United States and Belarus's chief ally Russia under Trump. Since taking office, the Republican has engaged in direct talks with Vladimir Putin, ending his predecessor's policy of isolating the Russian president. Tikhanovsky was for years held incommunicado, and in 2023 his wife was told that he had 'died.' In a video published by Viasna on Saturday, he appeared almost unrecognizable, his head shaven and face emaciated. Tikhanovsky was sentenced in 2021 to 18 years in prison for 'organizing riots' and 'inciting hatred' and then to 18 months extra for 'insubordination.' A charismatic activist, Tikhanovsky drew the ire of authorities for describing Lukashenko as a 'cockroach' and his campaign slogan was 'Stop the cockroach.' Lukashenko claimed a landslide victory in the 2020 election, a result that sparked massive opposition protests which authorities violently suppressed. The Belarusian autocrat claimed a record seventh term in elections earlier this year that observers blasted as a farce. Fellow Belarusian political activists and foreign politicians welcomed the release. Poland's foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said the 'free world' needed Tikhanovsky. 'My sincerest joy goes out to you, Tikhanovskaya and your entire family,' he wrote on X. Former Belarusian culture minister Pavel Latushko, who supported the 2020 protests against Lukashenko, said all those released had been jailed illegally and hailed Tikhanovsky's release as an 'important moment.' European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen hailed Tikhanovsky's release and called for Belarus to free its other political prisoners. 'This is fantastic news and a powerful symbol of hope for all the political prisoners suffering under the brutal Lukashenka regime,' she said on X. Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Tikhanovsky's release was 'fantastically good news.' 'At the same time, we must not forget the many other prisoners in Belarus. Lukashenko must finally release them,' he said on X.
Al Arabiya
5 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Belarus Frees Key Opposition Figure Siarhei Tsikhanouski Following Rare Visit From Top US Envoy
Belarus has freed Siarhei Tsikhanouski, a key dissident figure and the husband of exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, following a visit there by a senior Trump administration official, Tsikhanouskaya's team announced on Saturday. It said Tsikhanouski, a popular blogger and activist, had arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania, alongside 13 other political prisoners. Tsikhanouski's release came just hours after the Belarusian authorities announced that the country's authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko met with Trump's Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg in Minsk. Tsikhanouski was jailed in 2020 after announcing plans to challenge Lukashenko in that year's election. Following his arrest, his wife ran in his stead, rallying large crowds in her support across the country. Official results of the election handed Lukashenko his sixth term in office but were denounced by the opposition and the West as a sham. Amid unprecedented protests that broke out in the aftermath of the vote, Tsikhanouskaya left the country under pressure from the authorities. Her husband was later sentenced to 19-1/2 years in prison on charges of organizing mass riots.
Al Arabiya
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Rwandan Opposition Leader Arrested Over Alleged Plot Against Authorities
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