Belarus opposition leader's husband Sergei Tikhanovsky freed from prison
The husband of Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has been unexpectedly released from prison in Belarus, along with other political prisoners.Sergei Tikhanovsky has been moved to Lithuania and has been being reunited with his wife who lives in exile in the capital Vilnius.It is understood at least 10 prisoners have been released in total, including the former RFE journalist Ihar Karnei.The sudden release came as US special envoy Keith Kellogg visited Minsk on Saturday and held a meeting with Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko.
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Footage on social media shared by Tikhanovskaya's representatives show the couple smiling and hugging and Tikhanovsky appears to have lost a lot of weight in custody. "My husband … is free! It's hard to describe the joy in my heart," Tikhanovskaya wrote on X.Thanking Donald Trump, Kellogg and "all European allies" for their efforts to get her husband released, she added: "We're not done. 1150 political prisoners remain behind bars. All must be released."The other released prisoners include five Belarusian nationals and Japanese, Polish and Swedish citizens, according to Tikhanovskaya's office. In a statement on X, the Lithuanian foreign minister said the 14 political prisoners were receiving care in Lithuania. Maria Kolesnikova, one of the best known opposition leaders who was jailed after the mass protests of 2020, is still in prison, her sister confirmed.Tikhanovskaya stood in the August 2020 elections after her husband, former blogger and presidential candidate Tikhanovsky, was taken into custody. He was jailed for 18 years in 2021.His wife ran in his place and claimed victory in the polls, which were widely thought to be rigged by supporters of Lukashenko, but she was forced into exile with her children the day after the vote. She has since led efforts to resist Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994.Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians are estimated to have left their country since the brutal crackdown on widespread opposition protests in 2020.Tens of thousands of people have been arrested in the country in the past five years for political reasons, according to human rights group Viasna.
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Belarus opposition leader released early after five years
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Sergei Tikhanovsky, the husband of Belarus' opposition leader, has called on US President Donald Trump to "just say the word" and ask for all political prisoners in Belarus to be opposition activist was freed unexpectedly on Saturday and reunited with his wife in Lithuania. Thirteen other political prisoners were also released and forced into move came as US special envoy Keith Kellogg travelled to Minsk, the Belarusian capital, and met the country's authoritarian leader Alexander was the first high-profile American visit in many years. In an emotional press conference the day after his release, Tikhanovsky broke down in tears as he described his five years in solitary confinement and called for the freedom of more than 1,000 political prisoners still behind was arrested in 2020 as he planned to run for president against Lukashenko in that summer's elections. He was jailed for 18 years in 2021 after a court convicted him of rallying mass protests against Lukashenko, among other politically motivated a prominent opposition figure, Tikhanovsky said he had been held in what he described as the "strictest possible regime", cut off from all contact with the outside world."You don't even get letters, not a single call. For five years, I couldn't even go to confession with a priest. No letters, no calls, no priest, no lawyer," he said. Then he began to sob."It's a nightmare," he said. "You ask about torture. Is that not torture? Murderers get to watch TV in prison, they have everything. But I didn't even get letters. Or soap. Or a toothbrush."He has barely spoken to anyone but prison guards for years and on Sunday sometimes struggled for words."How can they do that? You [the regime] consider us criminals. But we have rights," he said."It's inhuman. It's a nightmare. They have to stop this. We have to get people out."He called on the US president for more help."Trump has such power and such possibilities, that with one word he could free all political prisoners. I ask him to say that word now," he added. His wife, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, wiped away her own tears as he spoke. Earlier she had called him her "personal hero".She also described how their daughter hadn't recognised her father because he had changed so much in prison and lost a lot of said Lukashenko had received only one thing from the US administration in return for the prisoner release on Saturday - the visit from US envoy can present that as a diplomatic breakthrough after years of political isolation for the repression of domestic dissent and for his support for Russia's full-scale invasion of Tikhanovsky said what Belarus wants most is the removal of US his arrest, Tikhanovsky was a colourful, outspoken figure who had a big following in Belarus on social video blogger and activist used to call on people to "stop the cockroach", referring to Lukashenko, and would tour the country to meet people in town squares and villages to hear their his arrest in 2020, his wife stepped in to run for president in his place in the August Lukashenko declared another landslide win, her supporters flooded the streets in the biggest protests Belarus has ever were ruthlessly crushed, and Tikhanovskaya was forced to flee the country."The leader of the opposition is Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, my wife, and I don't make any claim to anything," Tikhanovsky clarified on Sunday, insisting that he had no intention of taking over leadership of the Belarusian opposition he had raised a fist of defiance."I want to say to all Belarusians - if you were waiting for a symbol, this is it," he said, urging them to stand up to said he regretted nothing he had done - despite the treatment he received as a he added his release from prison had saved his life, because he would not have survived his full sentence behind bars in such of thousands of Belarusians are estimated to have left their country since the brutal crackdown on widespread opposition protests in of thousands of people have been arrested in the country in the past five years for political reasons, according to human rights group Viasna.
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Belarus opposition couple to keep fighting for release of political prisoners
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