Belarus releases opposition figures as US eases sanctions
Belarus freed over 100 political detainees, among them Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and activist Maria Kolesnikova, after the United States agreed to lift some sanctions, according to multiple media reports on Saturday.
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, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
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. “I think this is a very good step by the U.S. toward Belarus. We are lifting them now,” he said.
The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kolesnikova was sentenced four years ago to a long 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. 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.
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