Latest news with #SyarheiTsikhanouski
Irish Times
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Belarus opposition leader freed after nearly five years in jail
One of the leaders of Belarus 's opposition movement, Syarhei Tsikhanouski, has been released from jail after being pardoned after almost five years behind bars. His wife, the exiled politician 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. The surprise move came hours after Donald Trump 's special envoy Keith Kellogg visited Minsk and met the authoritarian Belarusian leader, Alexander Lukashenko , in the highest-level contact between Washington and the Belarusian government since the brutal post-election crackdown in 2020. In total, 14 Belarusian political prisoners were released on Saturday, the Nasha Niva newspaper said. READ MORE Mr Tsikhanouski, a former blogger who galvanised anti-Lukashenko sentiment before thee rigged 2020 presidential election , was arrested shortly after announcing his candidacy. He was later sentenced to 18 years, in what was widely seen as a politically motivated case, for 'inciting hatred and social unrest'. His wife ran in his place and emerged as the leading opposition challenger before fleeing amid a sweeping crackdown to Lithuania, where she has since led efforts to resist the Lukashenko regime. 'My husband ... is free! It's hard to describe the joy in my heart,' Ms Tsikhanouskaya wrote on X. She thanked Mr Trump and Mr Kellogg and 'all European allies' for their efforts to get her husband released. 'We're not done. 1150 political prisoners remain behind bars. All must be released,' she added. In the summer of 2020, Belarus had its largest protest to date, with more than 200,000 citizens flooding on to the streets to demonstrate the widely disputed presidential elections in which Lukashenko claimed to have secured 80 per cent of the vote. The violent crackdown by Lukashenko's security forces turned him into even more of a pariah in the West, pushing him closer to Moscow and in effect transforming Belarus into a vassal state of Russia – an alliance that proved crucial for Vladimir Putin when the country became a launch point for his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But in the last year, Lukashenko's regime has granted pardons to more than 250 political prisoners, a move some view as an attempt by him to ease Belarus's international isolation. Several high-profile political prisoners remain behind bars, including Maria Kolesnikova and Viktor Babariko. In January, Mr Lukashenko secured a seventh five-year term as Belarusian president in a resounding election victory that western governments have rejected as a sham. – Guardian
Telegraph
a day ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Belarus frees imprisoned opposition leader after US intervention
Belarus has freed Syarhei Tsikhanouski, one of the country's opposition leaders, in a deal brokered by US special envoy Keith Kellogg in Minsk. In what is widely being seen as an attempt to build relations with the West, Mr Tsikhanouski was one of 14 Belarusian opposition figures freed from jail on Saturday after Mr Kellogg met president Alexander Lukashenko. Ihar Karnei, a longtime Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty correspondent serving a three-year term on charges of extremism, and Allan Roio, an Estonian national who was detained last year after he established an NGO to raise funds for Belarusian refugees, were also freed. Mr Tsikhanouski is the husband of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Belarus' most prominent opposition leader who opposes the regime from exile in Lithuania. On her official Telegram channel, Ms Tsikhanouskaya shared a video of her husband disembarking a white minibus, writing 'what our family dreamed of for these five years and what we all worked for, from the moment of his arrest, has happened.' Mr Tsikhanouski, a popular anti-regime blogger and activist known for his anti-Lukashenko slogan 'stop the cockroach', was arrested and detained after announcing plans to run against Lukashenko in the 2020 election. Following her husband's arrest, Ms Tsikhanouskaya ran in his stead, but official results of the election which many saw as a sham handed a sixth term to Mr Lukashenko and sparked the biggest protests in the country's history. More than 35,000 people were detained and all political opposition was gutted. Mr Lukashenko, who extended his rule to a seventh term in January of this year, has pardoned almost 300 people including imprisoned US citizens since July 2024, in what some have described as an attempt to heal his relationship with the West. Mr Kellogg was welcomed to Lukashenko's personal residence when he visited Minsk earlier this week in the highest-level contact between Washington and the Belarusian regime since the crackdown on post-election protests in 2020. 'You have made a lot of noise in the world with your arrival,' Lukashenko said, adding that he hoped the conversation would be 'very sincere and open.' Mr Lukashenko's press secretary told Russian state media on Saturday that he had freed the 14 prisoners following a request from Donald Trump. It is not yet clear whether Mr Kellogg's visit will lead to the lifting of US sanctions against Minsk. Many other political prisoners, among them Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski, Lukashenko rival Viktar Babaryka and political activist Maria Kalesnikava, remain behind bars.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Belarus frees opposition leader, 13 others in US-brokered deal
STORY: :: Video shows Belarus opposition leader Syarhei Tsikhanouski in an emotional embrace with his wife after his prison release :: June 21, 2025 :: Vilnius, Lithuania :: Other prisoners freed in the U.S.-brokered deal include former journalist Ihar Karnei Tsikhanouski was seen emerging from a van with a shaven head, smiling and immediately stepping up to hug his wife in a long embrace, a video released by her office showed. The release was brokered by U.S. special envoy Keith Kellogg, a spokesperson for Lithuania's prime minister said. Five Belarus nationals were released along with three Poles, two Latvians, two Japanese citizens, one Estonian and one Swede, Lithuania said. Tsikhanouski's wife Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, a prominent opposition figure, posted video of her and her husband meeting Karnei and other freed prisoners.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
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 …
The Star
a day ago
- Politics
- The Star
Belarus opposition leader Tsikhanouski freed from jail, his wife says
FILE PHOTO: Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya holds an image of her husband Syarhei Tsikhanouski, who is jailed in Belarus, as she attends the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 17, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
