VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Belarusian authorities on Saturday freed 123 prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and key opposition figures Maria Kolesnikova and Viktar Babaryka, as part of a deal with Washington that lifted U.S. sanctions on the country's vital fertilizer exports.
A close ally of Russia, Belarus' authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, has ruled the nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades. Belarus has been repeatedly sanctioned by the West for its rampant crackdown on dissent and for allowing Moscow to use its territory in the invasion of Ukraine. Belarus has released hundreds of prisoners since July 2024 in what is seen as an effort by Lukashenko to win a reprieve from the bruising restrictions.
Here's a look at some of the prominent prisoners released Saturday and others who are still in prison:
Ales Bialiatski and Viasna rights advocates
Human rights advocate Bialiatski won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 along with the prominent Russian rights group Memorial and Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties. Awarded the prize while in jail awaiting trial, he was later convicted of smuggling and financing actions that violated the public order — charges widely denounced as politically motivated — and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The 63-year-old, who founded Belarus’ oldest and most prominent human rights group, Viasna, was imprisoned at a penal colony in Gorki in a facility notorious for beatings and hard labor.
Speaking to The Associated Press, Bialiatski said his release after 1,613 days in prison came as a surprise and felt “like I jumped out of icy water into a normal, warm room.”
Bialiatski, who looked pale and emaciated but energetic, vowed to continue his human rights work, saying that “more than a thousand political prisoners in Belarus remain behind bars simply because they chose freedom. And, of course, I am their voice."
Uladzimir Labkovich, another Viasna activist implicated in the same case as Bialiatki, was also released.
Maria Kolesnikova, opposition leader
Kolesnikova was a key figure who helped organize the mass protests that shook Belarus in 2020. She was a close ally of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the opposition leader who was forced into exile after challenging Lukashenko in the 2020 vote.
Kolesnikova, known for her close-cropped hair and trademark gesture of forming a heart with her hands, became an even greater symbol of resistance when Belarusian authorities tried to deport her in September 2020. Driven to the Ukrainian border, she tore up her passport and walked back into Belarus, where authorities took her back into custody.
The 43-year-old professional flutist was convicted in 2021 on charges including conspiracy to seize power and sentenced to 11 years in prison. She fell seriously ill behind bars and underwent surgery.
“It's a feeling of incredible happiness!” she said Saturday after being released. "To see the eyes of the people who are dear to me, to hug them, to understand that we are all free people now. At the same time, I am thinking about those people who are not yet free, and I am very much looking forward to the moment when we can all hug each other.”
Viktar Babaryka, former presidential hopeful
Viktar Babaryka, a banker and philanthropist, waded into politics in 2020 and sought to challenge Lukashenko in the presidential election. He quickly gained broad popularity but was denied registration for the race and was jailed less than two months before the vote in what he denounced as “medieval repressions.”
Babaryka, 62, was ultimately convicted on corruption charges that were widely seen as politically driven and sentenced to 14 years in prison in July 2021. At the time, the U.S. embassy denounced the verdict as a “cruel sham,” saying it showed that Lukashenko’s “regime will stop at nothing to keep power.”
Maxim Znak, a lawyer and part of Babaryka’s team who was convicted along with him, was also released Saturday.
A number of journalists were released Saturday, including the editor of the popular independent news site Tut.by, Maryna Zolatava.
Zolatava was arrested in May 2021 and was later sentenced to 12 years in prison following her conviction on charges of incitement and distributing materials urging actions aimed at harming national security — counts that authorities widely use against independent journalists and opposition supporters. International journalism organizations, including Reporters Without Borders, have persistently called for her release.
Andrzej Poczobut, a correspondent for the influential Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and a leading figure in Belarus’ Polish minority, was arrested in March 2021.
Now 52 years old, he was convicted in February 2023 of “damaging national security” and “inciting hatred” for his coverage of the protests that erupted after the 2020 vote and sentenced to eight years in prison.
He was sent to a harsh maximum-security prison despite concerns about his health, and he has repeatedly refused to ask Lukashenko for pardon.
Among others still behind bars are Viasna activists Marfa Rabkova and Valiantsin Stefanovic, and Babaryka's son Eduard, who helped run his father's presidential campaign.