Latest news with #SyarheiTsikhanouski
Telegraph
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Belarus frees imprisoned opposition leader after US intervention
Belarus has freed Syarhei Tsikhanouski, one of the country's opposition leaders, in a deal brokered by US special envoy Keith Kellogg in Minsk. In what is widely being seen as an attempt to build relations with the West, Mr Tsikhanouski was one of 14 Belarusian opposition figures freed from jail on Saturday after Mr Kellogg met president Alexander Lukashenko. Ihar Karnei, a longtime Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty correspondent serving a three-year term on charges of extremism, and Allan Roio, an Estonian national who was detained last year after he established an NGO to raise funds for Belarusian refugees, were also freed. Mr Tsikhanouski is the husband of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Belarus' most prominent opposition leader who opposes the regime from exile in Lithuania. On her official Telegram channel, Ms Tsikhanouskaya shared a video of her husband disembarking a white minibus, writing 'what our family dreamed of for these five years and what we all worked for, from the moment of his arrest, has happened.' Mr Tsikhanouski, a popular anti-regime blogger and activist known for his anti-Lukashenko slogan 'stop the cockroach', was arrested and detained after announcing plans to run against Lukashenko in the 2020 election. Following her husband's arrest, Ms Tsikhanouskaya ran in his stead, but official results of the election which many saw as a sham handed a sixth term to Mr Lukashenko and sparked the biggest protests in the country's history. More than 35,000 people were detained and all political opposition was gutted. Mr Lukashenko, who extended his rule to a seventh term in January of this year, has pardoned almost 300 people including imprisoned US citizens since July 2024, in what some have described as an attempt to heal his relationship with the West. Mr Kellogg was welcomed to Lukashenko's personal residence when he visited Minsk earlier this week in the highest-level contact between Washington and the Belarusian regime since the crackdown on post-election protests in 2020. 'You have made a lot of noise in the world with your arrival,' Lukashenko said, adding that he hoped the conversation would be 'very sincere and open.' Mr Lukashenko's press secretary told Russian state media on Saturday that he had freed the 14 prisoners following a request from Donald Trump. It is not yet clear whether Mr Kellogg's visit will lead to the lifting of US sanctions against Minsk. Many other political prisoners, among them Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski, Lukashenko rival Viktar Babaryka and political activist Maria Kalesnikava, remain behind bars.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Belarus frees opposition leader, 13 others in US-brokered deal
STORY: :: Video shows Belarus opposition leader Syarhei Tsikhanouski in an emotional embrace with his wife after his prison release :: June 21, 2025 :: Vilnius, Lithuania :: Other prisoners freed in the U.S.-brokered deal include former journalist Ihar Karnei Tsikhanouski was seen emerging from a van with a shaven head, smiling and immediately stepping up to hug his wife in a long embrace, a video released by her office showed. The release was brokered by U.S. special envoy Keith Kellogg, a spokesperson for Lithuania's prime minister said. Five Belarus nationals were released along with three Poles, two Latvians, two Japanese citizens, one Estonian and one Swede, Lithuania said. Tsikhanouski's wife Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, a prominent opposition figure, posted video of her and her husband meeting Karnei and other freed prisoners.
The Guardian
18 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Belarus opposition leader freed from jail after pardon, human rights group says
One of the leaders of Belarus's opposition movement, Syarhei Tsikhanouski, has been released from jail after being pardoned, the Belarusian human rights group Viasna has said. His wife, Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya, who took over the opposition cause after his jailing, on Saturday shared a video of him smiling and embracing her after his release with the caption: 'FREE'. More details soon …
The Star
19 hours ago
- Politics
- The Star
Belarus opposition leader Tsikhanouski freed from jail, his wife says
FILE PHOTO: Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya holds an image of her husband Syarhei Tsikhanouski, who is jailed in Belarus, as she attends the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 17, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
Reuters
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Belarus opposition leader Tsikhanouski freed from jail, his wife says
VILNIUS, June 21 (Reuters) - Belarus opposition leader Syarhei Tsikhanouski has been released from prison, his wife Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said in a post on social media X on Saturday.
