There is a major political development which sees Belarus release a series of political prisoners including known oppositionism Siarhei Tsikhanouski. The move is made after diplomatic contact with a delegation of the United States, which indicates that a realignment of the international positioning of Belarus is in the offing.
It is the most significant change in the attitude of the country toward political opposition, which has been carried out by the authoritarian government since the disputed presidential election of 2020, confirmed Belarusian opposition sources. Siarhei Tsikhanouski, a husband of exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, was in custody since May 2020, and had got a total of more than 19 years of prison time on charges being widely cited as politically motivated.
Sources close to the talks revealed that the US envoy Keith Kellogg was the most influential figure in the talks earlier this week in Minsk. Kellogg, who was the advisor of the previous US President Donald Trump, also got directly involved in negotiations with the Belarusian President Aliaksandr Lukashenka in order to secure the release as allegedly reported.
This weekend, Belarus released 14 political prisoners, including opposition leader Siarhei Tsikhanouski.@RepCohen, @oscepa Special Rep. on Political Prisoners, welcomed this news while calling on Minsk to free the 1000+ political prisoners they still hold hostage. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/mZbk5PUeHk
— U.S. Helsinki Commission (@HelsinkiComm) June 25, 2025
A Calculated Political Gesture
People observe that the release time is taken strategically in order to correspond to future political activities. As far as the presidential elections in Belarus are going to take place in January, 2025, it seems that Lukashenka is ready to make some controlled concessions in order to soften the international pressure and restart the reputation of his regime in the world.
This is not the first instance of such pardons. Over the last 12 months the Belarusian government has been releasing in small batches former prisoners who had been declared as extremists. Authorities in Minsk have openly defended such actions citing them as humanitarian acts towards people who were off track. The human rights organisations and the fugitive opposition leaders, however, indicate that such acts are part of the larger master plan to, somehow, earn leverage among the Western countries.
Political Prisoner Turned Symbol
Siarhei Tsikhanouski, who used to be a famous YouTuber blogger, became a political figure by declaring that he wanted to oppose Lukashenka in 2020. His arrest on administrative charges effectively prevented his candidacy. In his place, his wife, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, later entered the political stage and became the politician of the democratic opposition in Belarus.
After massive protests, which followed the election in 2020, that most of international observers ruled to be falsified, the regime led by Lukashenka conducted a mass crackdown on opposition. Tsikhanouski was sentenced to such harsh conditions that even to date, his family never heard even a word of him. In 2023 he was sentenced to another 1.5 years on the offence of supposed ways against the rules in prison.
His being free is not only a personal triumph of his family, it also put the nationalistic movement of politically-motivated prisoners in Belarus back into the spotlight.
Opposition Voices and International Response
According to Franak Viačorka, a senior Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya adviser, the release was an actual result of the silent diplomacy, and the pressure in the form of sanctions mixed with backstage talks was the key factor to achieve the result. He continued by saying that his release gives new hope to the people of Belarus and makes everyone around the world renew attention against other political prisoners who have yet to leave prisons.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission described the news as an inspirational example of optimism. In the meantime, American delegates emphasized the relationship with Lithuania and Washington, as it assisted Belarusian resettlers since 2020.
However, Tsikhanouskaya remains cautious. Even the public has already heard that Lukashenka is not someone to be trusted because Belarus is one of the state helps Russia in the invasion of Ukraine. To her, the war has allowed a cover of both, financial and political to the regime of Lukashenka.
In spite of these profile pardons, nothing has changed in the human rights situation in Belarus that is still hopeless. As stated by a rights group, Vyasna, over 50,000 people have been detained due to political reasons since the unrest in 2020. Investigations have been conducted by trials which were neither open nor fair and thousands of people have been condemned, and arrests still happen daily.
According to the United Nations, about 300,000 Belarusians have escaped out of Belarus in the last five years with a majority of them resettling in the neighboring Poland and Lithuania. The Tsikhanouski release does very little to alter the repression that is still widespread in the nation.
However, it is perceived that the move will be used as an opportunity towards future diplomacy. It is yet to be determined whether this is an indicator of real transformation or a short-term strategy by the Belarusian establishment.
