US EditionBelarus Frees Nobel Prize Laureate Bialiatski, Opposition Figure Kolesnikova as U.S. Lifts Sanctions
Belarus released 123 prisoners including Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski after talks with U.S., which lifted sanctions on Belarus's potash sector to ease economic pressure.
- On Saturday, Belarus freed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, key opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova and dozens of prisoners, capping two days of talks with Washington.
- The Lithuania-Belarus dispute over trucks and airspace escalated earlier this year when Lithuania temporarily closed its border and Belarus threatened to seize up to 1,200 Lithuanian trucks.
- President Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 123 prisoners, including a U.S. citizen, six citizens of U.S. allied countries, and five Ukrainian citizens; most were sent to Ukraine.
- A U.S. official described the release as `a significant milestone in U.S.-Belarus engagement` and `yet another diplomatic victory` for President Donald Trump, noting his role in freeing over 200 political prisoners.
- Belarus's potash industry, which once supplied about 20% of global exports, saw shipments sharply reduced by sanctions on Belaruskali, and Minsk hopes lifting U.S. sanctions will ease European Union measures.
23 Articles
23 Articles
Belarus Frees Opposition Icons
Maria Kolesnikova, a central figure in Belarus' 2020 protest movement, has been released along with 122 other prisoners after more than five years behind bars, the US embassy in Vilnius said Saturday. Onetime opposition candidate Viktar Babaryka and Ales Bialiatski, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize while in jail...
The Norwegian Nobel Committee welcomes the release of Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski, the 2022 Peace Prize laureate, the committee chairman told AFP on Saturday, calling for the release of all other political prisoners.
Belarus frees Nobel Prize laureate Bialiatski, opposition figure Kolesnikova as U.S. lifts sanctions
Belarusian authorities have released Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and key opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova from prison, Pavel Sapelka, human rights advocate with the Viasna rights group, confirmed to the AP.
"Our struggle continues," said the 63-year-old founder of the human rights organization Vyasna on Saturday after his release to the opposition channel Belsat in Vilnius. He called the Nobel Prize awarded to him in 2022 a "recognition of our work, of our unrealized aspirations". "That's why the struggle continues."Similarly, only a few hours after her release, prominent Belarusian opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova expressed herself.
Ales Bialiatski, co-leader of the Nobel Peace Prize 2022, had been imprisoned for more than four years in the country led by Alexander Lukashenko.
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