Belarus has released 52 people identified by rights groups as political prisoners after President Alexander Lukashenko met a US special envoy, in a deal that the United States says will be accompanied by a limited easing of sanctions on the Belarusian airline Belavia.
The group freed on Thursday included trade union leaders, journalists and veteran dissidents, but rights groups say more than 1,000 people remain detained on politically motivated charges. US officials said the relaxation will allow Belavia to buy parts for its fleet; the airline had been sanctioned after Belarusian authorities forced a Ryanair flight to land in Minsk in 2021 and arrested journalist Roman Protasevich.
The pardons followed a meeting in Minsk on Thursday between Lukashenko and John Coale, a US special envoy. Coale told Reuters he discussed re-establishing trade ties and reopening the US embassy in Minsk, which closed in February 2022 after Russia used Belarusian territory to launch its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He said he did not have a firm date for a reopening but expected it to happen "in the very near future."
Lukashenko, who has led Belarus since 1994, called the releases a humanitarian gesture. State news agency Belta quoted him as saying: "The Americans are taking a very constructive stance on the so-called political prisoners. We do not need political prisoners or any other prisoners." Human Rights Watch said the 52 pardoned on Thursday join 314 others released since July 2023 as part of a broader effort by Minsk to soften ties with the EU and the US.
Among those freed were 69-year-old philosopher Vladimir Matskevich, journalist Igor Losik and opposition figure Mikola Statkevich, who ran for president in 2010. Some released detainees were allowed to travel to neighbouring Lithuania; others were expelled from Belarus and forced into exile. Former journalist Larissa Shchyrakova said she had served her full three-year sentence and was then expelled. Viasna, a rights group, said UK-Belarus dual citizen Julia Fenner was among the freed; the BBC has asked the UK Foreign Office to confirm her release.
The releases took place on the eve of joint military exercises between Belarus and Russia known as Zapad-2025. Poland said an "unprecedented" incursion of Russian drones into its airspace had occurred this week and announced it would close its border with Belarus for the duration of the drills, which run until Tuesday. Latvia said it was closing part of its airspace. Russia's foreign ministry condemned Poland's moves as "confrontational steps." The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, warned that "Putin is mocking the efforts" by the West to deal with him.
Many of those jailed in Belarus were detained after the violent suppression of mass protests that erupted following the 2020 presidential election, which was widely condemned as rigged. Since then Minsk has faced extensive Western sanctions for human-rights abuses and for its cooperation with Russia in Moscow's war against Ukraine. Human rights organisations say authorities have used a broad array of criminal charges to silence dissent and curb independent media.
Earlier releases have occurred after visits by Western envoys. In June, a US special envoy secured the pardons and expulsion of 14 prisoners, including Sergei Tikhanovsky, the husband of exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Thirteen detainees have previously been released into exile. Tikhanovskaya met some of Thursday's freed prisoners as they crossed into Lithuania; Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda thanked former US President Donald Trump for his role in the negotiations.
Rights groups cautioned that the pardons do not amount to a broader return of civil liberties in Belarus, noting that many prisoners face the choice of exile or continued imprisonment. Opposition sources said Mikola Statkevich initially refused to leave Belarus, sitting in a no-man's-land at the border before reports said he had returned to the country. Others crossed into Lithuania, where authorities and advocacy groups are providing support.
The US move follows public signals from Trump in recent weeks that he had been in contact with Lukashenko and was seeking closer ties with Moscow as well as Minsk. Minsk has sought to rebuild economic links with the West after years of isolation, driven by its support for Russia's actions and the crackdown on domestic dissent. International rights organisations and Western governments say meaningful change would require the release of all political prisoners and an end to reprisals against the opposition.
More than a thousand people remain detained on politically motivated charges in Belarus, according to rights groups and recent tallies by advocacy organisations, leaving open questions about how far the thaw signalled by Thursday's releases will extend.