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belarusian Authorities released 123 prisoners on Saturday Nobel Peace Prize Award winner Ales Bialiatsky and prominent opposition figures Maria Kolesnikova and Viktor Babaryka, as part of a deal with Washington that lifted US sanctions on the country’s vital fertilizer exports.
The authoritarian president of Belarus, Russia’s close ally, Alexander Lukashenkohas ruled the country of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades. Belarus has been repeatedly imposed sanctions by the West for allowing and allowing a large-scale crackdown on dissent moscow Using its territory in the invasion of Ukraine. Belarus has released hundreds of prisoners through July 2024 in what is seen as an effort by Lukashenko to ease harsh sanctions.
Here is a look at some of the prominent prisoners released on Saturday and others who are still in jail:
Ales Bialiatsky and Viasna are supporters of rights
Human rights lawyer Bialiatsky won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 along with prominent Russian rights group Memorial and Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties. Awarded the award while in prison awaiting trial, he was later convicted of smuggling and financing operations that violated public order – charges widely condemned as politically motivated – and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The 63-year-old, who founded Viasna, Belarus’s oldest and most prominent human rights group, was imprisoned in a penal colony in Gorky, a prison notorious for beatings and hard labor.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Bieliatsky said that his release after 1,613 days in prison came as a surprise and that it felt “as if I had jumped out of icy water into a normal, warm room.”
Bialiatsky, looking pale and emaciated but energetic, vowed to continue his human rights work, saying that “More than a thousand political prisoners in Belarus are behind bars simply because they chose freedom. And, of course, I am their voice.”
Uladzimir Labkovich, another Viasna activist implicated in the same case as Bylyatky, was also released.
Maria Kolesnikova, opposition leader
Kolesnikova was a key figure who helped organize the mass protests that rocked Belarus in 2020. She was a close ally of opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who was forced into exile after challenging Lukashenko in the 2020 vote.
Kolesnikova, known for her cropped hair and trademark gesture of making a heart with her hands, became another major symbol of resistance when Belarusian authorities tried to deport her in September 2020. Taken to the Ukrainian border, she tore up her passport and flew back to Belarus, where authorities took her back into custody.
The 43-year-old professional flute player was convicted in 2021 on charges including conspiracy to seize power and sentenced to 11 years in prison. While behind bars she fell seriously ill and underwent surgery.
“It’s an incredible feeling of happiness!” He said this on Saturday after his release. “Looking into the eyes of those who are dear to me, hugging them, understanding that we are all free people now. At the same time, I am thinking about those who are not free yet, and I am very much looking forward to the moment when we can all hug each other.”
Victor Babaryka, former presidential candidate
Viktor Babaryka, a banker and philanthropist, entered politics in 2020 and tried to challenge Lukashenko in the presidential election. He soon achieved widespread popularity, but he was denied registration to run and jailed less than two months before the vote, which he condemned as “medieval repression”.
Babarika, 62, was ultimately convicted on corruption charges widely believed to be politically motivated and sentenced to 14 years in prison in July 2021. At the time, the US Embassy described the decision as a “cruel sham”, saying it showed that Lukashenko’s “regime will stop at nothing to maintain power.”
Maxim Znak, a convicted lawyer and member of Babaryka’s team, was also released on Saturday.
Maryna Zoltava, leading journalist
Several journalists were released on Saturday, including Maryna Zoltava, editor of the popular independent news site Tut.by.
Zoltava was arrested in May 2021 and later sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of inciting actions aimed at harming national security and distributing materials – counts that authorities use widely against independent journalists and opposition supporters. International journalism organizations, including Reporters Without Borders, have consistently called for his release.
Still in jail: Journalist Pokzobut and others
Andrzej Poczbut, a correspondent for the influential Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and a prominent figure in Belarus’s Polish minority community, was arrested in March 2021.
Now 52, he was convicted in February 2023 of “causing harm to national security” and “inciting hatred” and sentenced to eight years in prison for his coverage of the protests that erupted after the 2020 vote.
He was sent to a harsh maximum-security prison despite concerns about his health, and he repeatedly refused to apologize to Lukashenko.
Others still behind bars include Viasna activists Marfa Rabkova and Valentyn Stefanovic, and Babaryka’s son Eduard, who helped run his father’s presidential campaign.