Belarus Unlocks the Cell Door

June 23rd, 2025

Dhruv Arun

Belarus freed top opposition figure Sergei Tikhanovsky and more than a dozen other political prisoners Saturday following an appeal from the White House, Tsikhanouskaya's team announced on Saturday. It is a clear sign of warming ties between Washington and Belarus-ally Moscow. The release came just hours after retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, President Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk, the highest-profile visit of a U.S. official to the authoritarian state in years. Belarus has released a group of political prisoners on Saturday, in a US-brokered deal with President Aliaksandr Lukashenka, Belarusian opposition sources told Euronews.

Among the released was the husband of Tikhanovsky’s wife, Siarhei Tsikhanouski. In an exclusive statement to Euronews, Franak Viačorka, Chief of Staff to exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, emphasized the diplomatic breakthrough: "The visit of Trump's envoy Kellogg to Minsk may not have brought any changes for Ukraine's peace talks, but it brought very concrete results: the release of political prisoners, including Siarhei Tsikhanouski." He added, “When they are together, this powerful couple, Siarhei and Sviatlana, they give hope to the Belarusian people, hope and energy to continue the fight.”

Tikhanovsky, 46, had been imprisoned for more than five years. The popular YouTuber had planned to run against Lukashenko in the August 2020 presidential election, but was arrested and detained weeks before the vote. He was sentenced in 2021 to 18 years in prison for “organizing riots” and “inciting hatred,” then to another 18 months for “insubordination.” Svetlana, a political novice at the time of her husband’s arrest, ran against Lukashenko in his place but lost after what the opposition described as widespread falsification. She later fled Belarus.

Their reunion took place in Lithuania, where the freed prisoners were transferred for safety. They have now been transferred from Belarus to Lithuania, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Kestutis Budrys said they were receiving “proper care.” Although none of the released prisoners needed emergency medical assistance, “one of them needed emergency medical attention,” as “they were imprisoned in difficult conditions,” Budrys told the LRT public broadcaster without elaborating. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Swedish-Belarusian citizen Galina Krasnyanskaya, arrested in 2023 for allegedly supporting Ukraine, was also freed.

Tikhanovsky recounted his ordeal at a press conference. “You don't even get letters, not a single call. For five years, I couldn't even go to confession with a priest. No letters, no calls, no priest, no lawyer.” He kept adding that “It's a nightmare,” and that: “You ask about torture. Is that not torture? Murderers get to watch TV in prison, they have everything. But I didn't even get letters. Or soap. Or a toothbrush.” “Trump has such power and such possibilities that with one word he could free all political prisoners. I ask him to say that word now,” he added.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya wiped away her own tears as he spoke. She also described how their daughter hadn't recognised her father because he had changed so much in prison and lost a lot of weight. She wrote on social media following her husband’s release that “It’s hard to describe the joy in my heart.”

The international response was immediate. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on social media, “This is fantastic news and a powerful symbol of hope for all the political prisoners suffering under the brutal Lukashenka regime.” Additionally, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radoslaw Sikorski expressed his “sincerest joy,” while Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics called Tikhanovsky’s freedom a “much-awaited and long-overdue moment.” German Minister of Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul on social media wrote that Tikhanovsky’s release was “fantastically good news.” He added, “At the same time, we must not forget the many other prisoners in Belarus. Lukashenko must finally release them.”

Despite the release, repression remains. Belarus, ruled by Lukashenko since 1994, has outlawed all genuine opposition parties. It is the only European country to retain the death penalty as a punishment. The eastern European country still holds more than 1,000 political prisoners in its jails, according to the Belarusian human rights group Viasna.