‘Never give up’: Belarusian prisoners celebrate release after US sanctions lifted

Rumors had been circulating for a couple of days about the release of an important prisoner from Belarus.

But no one wanted to reveal the names on the list, nor the exact number, until everyone was safe and sound and finally free.

In total, 123 political prisoners have been released, including some of the best-known names among Belarusian opposition politicians, human rights activists and journalists.

Maria Kolesnikova, the protest leader with a famous red-painted smile, was on the list for release.

A video of her jumping for joy and hugging other former prisoners, delighted to be reunited, was soon circulating on social media. Then came another, on a bus leaving Belarus, where he thanked everyone who had helped achieve this moment.

“It is an incredible feeling of happiness to see my loved ones, hug them and realize that we are all free,” Masha, as she is better known, told the camera, her lips already painted red again.

The first sunset of his freedom was something of great beauty, he said.

“But I also think of those who are not yet free and I look forward to the moment when we can all hug each other, when we are all free.”

Also out is Viktor Babaryka, a banker who tried to run for president in 2020 but was jailed before the election even began.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski has also been released from a 10-year sentence.

All were jailed for their opposition to the authoritarian government of Alexander Lukashenko, whose security forces crushed the 2020 mass protests with brutal force. They were the greatest challenge to his government that he had ever faced.

The release of the prisoners is now the result of long and complex US-led negotiations that culminated in a two-day visit to Minsk this week by Donald Trump’s new special envoy, John Coale.

For Lukashenko, that commitment in itself is a victory: After years as a political pariah in the West, he is clearly happy to be back in talks with the United States.

But he also got the United States to lift sanctions on his country’s key export, potash, as an additional, more tangible reward. EU sanctions (and tougher policies) are still in place.

It’s not entirely clear what Trump stands to gain from this. But Belarus is a close ally of Russia, including in its war against Ukraine, and the move comes as the United States has also returned to talks with Moscow in search of a peace deal.

The dozens of prisoners Lukashenko agreed to release were always expected to come here to Vilnius, Lithuania, where a crowd of friends, family and fellow activists gathered outside the U.S. embassy in the bitter cold to greet them.

Some arrived draped in the red and white flag of the Belarusian opposition.

Tatsiana Khomich, Masha Kolesnikova’s sister, who had campaigned for more than five years for her release, couldn’t stop smiling. “I just talked to Masha,” he told me after a video call.

Kolesnikova, a professional flute player before the disputed 2020 election, spent much of her sentence in solitary confinement and denied even letters and phone calls to her family.

“She’s fine, she’s fine. I just want to hug her. I still can’t believe it,” her sister said.

Suddenly, there was a commotion among the crowd: a police car, blue lights flashing, was heading toward the gates of the US embassy, ​​leading a small convoy of other vehicles.

But there was no way the 123 former prisoners were inside. Instead, we learned that only seven foreigners had been brought to Lithuania and only Ales Bialiatski of the Belarusians.

The others, including Kolesnikova, had been taken from Belarus and transferred to Ukraine: from prison to a war zone.

Staying in your own country is not usually an option offered.

“Lukashenko’s idea, whose else?” This is how one of the members of the opposition leader’s team, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, interpreted the surprise detour to Ukraine. It seems he had decided to play one last power game, so the long-awaited family gatherings would be delayed.

But what about the price paid for that moment? Tikhanovskaya is a friend and political ally of Masha Kolesnikova, but always calls for maximum pressure from the West on Lukashenko.

So has the United States gone too far, I wondered.

“This is a negotiation process. Of course, it would be good for us if nothing was given to Lukashenko, because all those people are hostages of his regime. They are innocent.

“But that’s how you negotiate,” he responded, before noting that sanctions can always be reapplied if necessary.

“President Trump now uses carrots. He may as well use sticks.”

A few steps away, a man waving a giant flag feared Lukashenko would simply take more prisoners. This is not a sign of sudden humanity, he said.

After a short time inside the US embassy, ​​Ales Bialiatski walked out onto the street to ecstatic applause from the crowd.

Emaciated, with a shaved head and still wearing his blue quilted prison jacket, he admitted that his head was spinning from all the sensations after four years in prison.

“They took me across Belarus blindfolded, from east to west, so I still can’t understand it. This is very emotional,” he shared, describing being woken up at 04:00 and being told by his prison guard to pack his bags.

When I asked him what he wanted most now, he didn’t hesitate: “I want to see my wife!”

It’s on its way, they told me.

Bialiatski’s own organization, Viasna, monitors political detentions in Belarus and the activist recalled that many hundreds of people like him, although less well-known, have been left behind bars.

“It is very important that everyone continues to work for the political prisoners who are still in Belarusian prisons, to fight for their complete release.”

Then, raising the red and white flag from his shoulders, he sent a message to Belarusians around the world.

“Optimism and activism,” Ales Bialiatski told them, with a sudden smile. “Never give up!”