Belarus on Saturday released from prison the husband of Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, along with thirteen other political prisoners. The release followed US special envoy Keith Kellog’s meeting with Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk.
Sergei Tikhanovsky who led the opposition movement prior to his arrest in 2020, has been moved to Lithuania where he united with his wife. The surprise release came after US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Keith Kellogg visited Minsk on Saturday and held a meeting with the country’s leader Alexander Lukashenko.
Announcing the release of her husband on X, Tikhanovskaya thanked the US President Donald Trump, Kellogg and "all European allies" for their efforts to get her husband released. "We're not done - 1,150 political prisoners remain behind bars. All must be released," she went on saying.
Along with Tikhanovsky, Belarus government released thirteen other political prisoners, the Lithuanian foreign minister said on X, adding that all of them were receiving care in Lithuania. According to Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, it’s mostly likely that the US asked for Tikhanovsky to be released as a significant concession in exchange for Kellogg's visit to Belarus.
Sergei Tikhanovsky was sentenced to eighteen years in prison in 2022 on charges of “organizing riots” and “inciting hatred” amid the nationwide anti-government protests following the contested presidential election in which Lukashenko won the 88% of the vote, securing the seventh term in office.
