Belarus frees Maria Kolesnikova and transfers 114 civilians to Ukraine with U.S. mediation

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has released 123 political prisoners following negotiations between Minsk and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Belarus John Coale, Lukashenko’s press service announced on Saturday.

The announcement followed the US agreeing to lift sanctions on potash, a key export for Belarus that has been under US sanctions since 2021, earlier on Saturday.

Among those released are Belarusian opposition figure Maria Kalesnikava, former presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka, as well as human rights defender and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski.

According to Lukashenko’s press service, the released prisoners were convicted “of various crimes, including espionage, terrorism, and extremism”, and were released as “part of the agreements reached with US President Donald Trump”.

Kalesnikava, a leading figure in the opposition movement that emerged after the disputed 2020 presidential election, was sentenced in September 2021 to 11 years in prison on charges including conspiracy to seize power and creating an extremist group. She had refused to leave Belarus amid the government’s crackdown on opposition figures.

Bialiatsky was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2023 for “smuggling” and “financing protest rallies under the guise of human rights activities”, in what are believed to be politically motivated charges.

Babaryka, considered the main rival of Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential race, was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2021 on bribery charges.

Five Ukrainian citizens were among those released by Belarus, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, while independent media outlet Mediazona Belarus reported that citizens of Latvia, Poland, Lithuania, the US, Japan, and Australia had also been pardoned.

In September, Lukashenko pardoned 52 political prisoners including opposition figures, journalists, and anti-government protesters following a meeting with Coale.

The US previously negotiated the release of 14 political prisoners in June, including Siarhei Tsikhanouski, one of Belarus’s most prominent opposition politicians.