Siarhei Tsikhanouski, the head of the Belarus opposition, was released from jail after five years, his wife Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya announced in a post on X.
After his release, Tsikhanouskaya, who took over the opposition movement after her husband was sentenced to a prison term, posted a video of him embracing her on Saturday with the caption “FREE.”
Siarhei, my husband, is unemployed! She thanked US President Donald Trump, US Ambassador Keith Kellogg, and allies on X for their joyous heart.
“We’re not done,” he declared. There are still 1150 political prisoners in prison. She continued, “Everyone must be released.”
Free Siarhei, my husband! The joy in my heart cannot be adequately expressed.
For all your efforts, thank you, @POTUS, @SPE_Kellogg, @John PCoale, DAS Christopher W. Smith, @StateDept, and our supporters.
We haven’t finished yet. There are still 1150 political prisoners in prison. Everyone must be released. pic. twitter.com/MhngqBHFq3
According to his wife’s office, Tsikhanouski, 46, is currently in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
The spokesperson added that 14 prisoners were released overall. Additionally, Lithuania reported that five Belarus nationals, three Poles, two Latvians, two Japanese, and one Swede were among those who were released.
Former Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Igor Karnei, who was detained in 2023 for his involvement in an “extremist” organization, was one of the people who was released.
Those who were released have now been moved from Belarus to Lithuania, where they are receiving “proper care,” according to the Lithuanian foreign minister, Kestutis Budrys.
The meeting, which was the most prominent US official’s official visit to the authoritarian state in a long time, took place just hours after Lukashenko met with US special envoy Keith Kellogg in Minsk.
Alexander Lukashenko, president of Belarus, and Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukrainian envoy, were both reported to have received the news shortly after their meeting in Minsk.
In the presidential election scheduled for August 2020, Tsikhanouski intended to challenge incumbent Lukashenko. When he called Lukashenko a “cockroach,” and his campaign slogan read, “Stop the cockroach,” he made a brand-new insult to the charismatic activist. At demonstrations, his supporters waved insecticide-used slippers.
However, Tsikhanouski was detained and detained prior to the election. His wife, who was a political novice at the time of his arrest, replaced him in the polls.
Tsikhanouski received an 18-year prison sentence in 2021 for “inciting hatred” and “organizing riots,” and an additional 18-month prison sentence for “insubordination.”
Belarus, which has been in power since 1994 under Lukashenko, is the only European nation to have the death penalty as a sanction.
Source: Aljazeera
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