Belarusian President Oleksandr Lukashenko pardoned 52 prisoners who had already crossed the Belarusian-Lithuanian border. This was reported by the President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda.
According to him, six Lithuanian citizens were among those released.
“52 prisoners safely crossed the Lithuanian border from Belarus today, leaving behind barbed wire, barred windows and constant fear. Among them, what is especially important to me, were six Lithuanians. I am deeply grateful to the United States and personally to President Trump for their continued efforts to release political prisoners,” Nauseda said.
He emphasized that more than a thousand political prisoners still remain in Belarusian prisons.
According to information of Lukashenka’s press service, he pardoned a total of 14 foreign citizens: six Lithuanians, two Latvians, two Poles, two Germans, one French and one British.
Among the 52 released political prisoners were well-known figures. In particular, this is opposition politician Mykola Statkevich, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2020. His case became one of the most visible examples of political repression in Belarus after the presidential elections. Lithuanian citizen Alyona Romanauskene, the head of the marketing department of the sanatorium “Belarus”, was also released. She received six years in prison on charges of espionage.
Among those released is a well-known Belarusian philosopher and critic of the Lukashenko regime, Volodymyr Matskevich. In 2021, he was sentenced to five years in prison. He repeatedly went on hunger strike to protest the persecution. In addition, the founder of the Telegram channel “Belarus of the Brain” was released. Ihor Losyk, who was serving a 15-year prison sentence. He spent more than five years behind bars.
We will remind you that after negotiations with Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on September 11, US Deputy Special Envoy John Cole announced that the United States had decided to lift sanctions on the Belarusian state airline “Belavia”.
During the meeting, Lukashenko touched upon the topic of the release of prisoners:
“I am willing to discuss this topic, and if Donald Trump insists that he is willing to accept all these exempted persons. Let’s try to work out a global deal, as Mr. Trump likes, a big deal. He calls it that. I will say frankly: we are not hiding anything. Let’s discuss this issue as well, although for me it is absolutely not important. And probably not for you. There are bigger problems in the world”.
