Belarus frees opposition figures as US lifts some sanctions

Belarus released more than 100 political prisoners on Saturday, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski and activist Maria Kolesnikova, after the U.S. agreed to remove some sanctions from the country.

Belarus released a total of 123 prisoners following talks between authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko and U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Belarus, John Coale. Viktar Babaryka, a former opposition presidential candidate, was also among those released Saturday.

The U.S. agreed to lift sanctions on potash, a key fertilizer component and an important export for Belarus, a historical ally of Russia.

“The United States is lifting sanctions on potash,” Coale told journalists in Minsk. “I think this is a very good step by the U.S. toward Belarus. We are lifting them now,” he said in remarks reported by state-run Belarusian news service Belta.

“As relations between the two countries normalize, more and more sanctions will be lifted,” Coale added.

“The latest release of 123 individuals, including one U.S. citizen, six citizens of U.S. Allies, and five Ukrainian citizens, is a significant milestone in U.S.-Belarus engagement,” a U.S. official said. “The United States stands ready for additional engagement with Belarus that advances U.S. interests and will continue to pursue diplomatic efforts to free remaining political prisoners in Belarus.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to Washington for its endeavors to secure the release of the prisoners. “Thanks to the active role of the United States and the cooperation of our intelligence agencies, around one hundred people are regaining their freedom now, including five Ukrainians,” Zelenskyy said in a post on social media.

Kolesnikova was sentenced four years ago to an 11-year prison term after being convicted of attempting to seize power illegally. 

Coale had already helped facilitate the release of more than 50 political prisoners from Belarus this year, and he has a mandate from Trump to secure the release of more. According to human rights group Viasna, there are still more than 1,000 political prisoners in the country.

Coale told Reuters that the remaining political prisoners in Belarus could be released, hopefully in one big group, in the coming months.

“I think it’s more than possible that we can do that; I think it’s probable,” he said. “We are on the right track; the momentum is there.”

The U.S. president has for months been keen to work with Lukashenko — whom he has repeatedly lauded — to release prisoners while seeking to bolster relations between the two countries. After Coale last met with Lukashenko in September, Belarus released more than 50 prisoners; in return, the U.S. lifted some sanctions on the country’s national airline.

Eva Hartog and Gregory Svirnovskiy contributed reporting.