Belarus has pardoned 123 prisoners, including a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and a key opposition figure who challenged the presidential elections in 2020, in exchange for US sanctions relief.
Human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski and Maria Kolesnikova, a key figure in the mass protests that rocked the country in 2020, were among those released, according to a spokesperson from the Viasna human rights group.
Earlier on Saturday, the Trump administration confirmed that the US was lifting sanctions on Belarus’s potash sector after officials held two days of talks in Minsk.
The release of prisoners comes as authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russia, seeks to improve relations with Washington.
Separately, Ukraine confirmed it had received 114 prisoners released by Belarus. The other nine were received by Lithuania.
Ms Kolesnikova, 43, known for her close-cropped hair and trademark gesture of forming a heart with her hands, became a symbol of resistance when Belarusian authorities tried to deport her to Ukraine in September 2020.
She broke away from security forces at the border, tore up her passport and walked back into Belarus.
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The professional flautist was convicted in 2021 on charges including conspiracy to seize power and sentenced to 11 years in prison, but then fell seriously ill and underwent surgery.
Ales Bialiatski, 63, who founded Viasna, Belarus’ oldest and most prominent human rights group, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 while awaiting trial for charges which were widely regarded as politically motivated.
He was seen by authorities as especially dangerous because of what Belarus alleged were his “extremist tendencies”.
Sentenced to 10 years in 2023, he had been held at a penal colony in Gorki, notorious for beatings and hard labour, and his health was deteriorating, according to his wife.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee expressed “profound relief and heartfelt joy” at the release of Mr Bialiatski and called on the Belarusian authorities “to release all political prisoners”.
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Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is an opposition leader in exile and a close ally of Ms Kolesnikova, posted her delight on X: “Maria is free!”
She added: “For five years, we fought for Maria Kalesnikava’s freedom. I am deeply grateful to the US administration and our European partners who worked tirelessly to secure her release.
“Maria is in a safe place, and we hope to hear from her soon.”
Ukrainian officials said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had also spoken to Ms Kalesnikava after her release, although they have not released any more details.
President Lukashenko has ruled the nation with an iron fist for more than three decades, but has been repeatedly sanctioned by Western countries both for its crackdown on human rights and for allowing Moscow to use its territory in the invasion of Ukraine.
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John Coale, the US special envoy for Belarus, described the two-day talks as “very productive,” Belarus’ state news agency Belta reported.
He said that normalising relations between Washington and Minsk was “our goal”.
US officials eased some sanctions after meeting with President Lukashenko in September 2025. In response, Minsk freed more than 50 political prisoners into Lithuania.
With that September release, the number of prisoners freed by Belarus since July 2024 exceeded 430.
