Belarus frees 52 political prisoners after appeal from Trump as U.S. eases some sanctions on Minsk, lifts restrictions on airline Belavia

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 neighboring 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.

Who was freed

• Ihar Losik — author of the popular Telegram channel Belarus Golovnogo Mozga (lit. “Belarus of the Brain”). Sentenced in 2020 to 15 years in prison. His wife Darya was later also arrested.
  
  
• Uladzimir Matskevich — Belarusian philosopher and advocate of a pro-European direction for the country. Convicted in 2021 of “organizing protests” and sentenced to five years in prison. He had nearly completed his term at the time of his release.
  
  
• Mikalai Dziadok — anarchist and antifascist who was jailed twice in the 2010s. Detained in 2020 on charges of “calls to seize power” and sentenced to five years. Mediazona Belarus reported he was freed, but the Anarchist Black Cross later commented that the information was unconfirmed, noting Dziadok had recently been transferred to the KGB detention center in Kolyadichi.
  
  
• Alena Romanauskiene — former chief marketing officer of the Lithuanian sanatorium “Belarus.” Arrested in 2023 while visiting relatives and sentenced to six years for espionage.
  
  
• Iryna Slaunikava — journalist accused of running an extremist group and organizing actions that disturbed public order. She was sentenced to five years. Former Belsat acting director Alexei Dzikavitski reported her release, citing two sources.

Lithuanian state television channel LRT, citing the Border Guard Service, reported that opposition politician Mikalai Statkevich chose to return to Belarus after spending several hours in the “neutral zone” between the two countries. Border Guard spokesperson Gedrius Mišutis said several Belarusian soldiers accompanied Statkevich as he made his way back, though he walked on his own.

Nasha Niva released multiple screenshots of CCTV footage showing Statkevich in his prison uniform sitting on a fence outside the Belarusian border, refusing to leave the country that threw him in jail. Statkevich was detained in May 2020 and sentenced to 14 years in a maximum-security prison in late 2021 after being found guilty of the “organization of mass riots.”

Notably absent from the list were opposition figures Maria Kalesnikava and Viktar Babaryka, as well as human rights activist and 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski.

On Sept. 11, Lukashenko held talks with Coale, describing political prisoners as “hostages” and proposing a “big deal” with Washington while also claiming that Belarus had no political prisoners. Soon after, news of pardons emerged.

After the meeting, Coale said Washington planned to reopen its embassy in Minsk, which he said “will happen in the very near future.” He also confirmed the U.S. decision to lift some sanctions on Belavia, the Belarusian state-owned flag carrier airline. The decision will allow Belavia to service and buy parts for its existing fleet of aircraft.

Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, regarded as the country’s legitimate president by many Belarusians, EU member states, and the European Parliament, told the Financial Times she welcomed Donald Trump’s efforts to secure the release of prisoners he called “hostages,” but she voiced concerns about the deal.

Tsikhanouskaya warned that lifting sanctions on Belavia could create a loophole for Russia to obtain aircraft parts through the carrier. U.S. officials told their Belarusian counterparts the easing of sanctions cannot be used to sidestep restrictions on Russia, though it remains unclear how that will be enforced.

“The easing of sanctions on Belavia is the price paid for the release of 50 people. We understand the humanitarian aim, we welcome it, but in essence this is a trade of human lives — people who should never have been imprisoned in the first place,” Tsikhanouskaya said.

She urged the European Union to push ahead with more sanctions “regardless of the U.S. decision … until there are systemic and irreversible democratic changes in Belarus.” The EU sanctions against Belavia and other Belarusian entities remain in force.

In June, following Lukashenko’s meeting with Trump adviser Keith Kellogg, 14 political prisoners were freed, including Siarhei Tsikhanouski — one of the most prominent symbols of Belarus’s protest movement in 2020.