14 September 2025 , 20:54
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52 political prisoners have been released from Belarus following an appeal from U.S. President Donald Trump, according to announcements made by U.S. envoy John Coale, with confirmation from European officials.
Washington has eased some sanctions on Minsk following the decision. These include lifting sanctions on the Belarusian state-owned flag carrier airline Belavia.
All of those released have crossed the border into neighbouring Lithuania, according to a tweet from Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda: “No man left behind! 52 prisoners safely crossed the Lithuanian border from Belarus today, leaving behind barbed wire, barred windows and constant fear. Among them, which is especially important to me, were 6 Lithuanians. I am deeply grateful to the United States and personally to President [Trump] for their continued efforts to free political prisoners. 52 is a lot. A great many. Yet more than 1,000 political prisoners still remain in Belarusian prisons and we cannot stop until they see freedom!”
The independent publication Mediazona Belarus published a video of the former prisoners being transported to the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius. The motorcade was greeted with chants of “Zhive Belarus!” (“Long Live Belarus!”), a motto widely used by members of the Belarusian democratic opposition as it approached the compound.
A photo of the first group of released prisoners was circulated shortly after, with independent outlet Nasha Niva noting that “many people are so exhausted by captivity that they are hard to recognize.”
Earlier in the day, Belarusian state-controlled news agency Belta reported that Lukashenko and Coale had discussed the fate of “a number of convicted persons in Belarus.” The agency cited Lukashenko as saying: “Listening to Trump recently, I understood — most likely from your initiative — that he is very concerned about the issue of hostages, or political prisoners, or whatever you call them. I don’t mind. Let’s discuss this subject broadly… We are definitely not supporters of keeping these people in penal colonies. Moreover, they are not convicted for politics. We have no such articles in our Criminal Code… But I am ready to discuss it. And if Donald insists that he is ready to take all of these freed people to his country, so be it, let’s try to work out a big deal.”
Independent outlet Nasha Niva published the names of some of the 52 political prisoners who were released after the news broke, following up with a full list shortly after. Of the 52, 14 are foreign nationals: six from Lithuania, two each from Latvia, Poland and Germany, and one each from France and the UK.
Politics Editor