Belarus: Lukashenko frees 123 prisoners, including Nobel laureate Bialiatski and opposition leader Kolesnikova.

Belarus has freed 123 prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski and prominent opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova. This is the most significant release of political prisoners since the wave of repression that followed the 2020 protests, and comes as part of a political agreement with the United States, which includes the lifting of sanctions on the Belarusian potassium sector, one of the economic pillars of the Lukashenko regime.

According to the state news agency Belta and confirmed by human rights organizations such as Viasna, the Belarusian president has pardoned 123 people convicted of crimes ranging from "espionage" to "terrorism" to "extremist activities." In reality, the international community and independent observers consider them largely political prisoners, imprisoned for their role in challenging Lukashenko's rule and defending human rights.

The agreement with Washington and the leverage of sanctions on potassium

The release is not a unilateral gesture of openness, but the counterpart of a specific agreement with the United States. A special envoy from Washington, John Coale, negotiated in Minsk the lifting of sanctions on Belarusian potassium—a key raw material for fertilizers, of which Belarus is a leading global exporter—and the beginning of a process of easing other restrictive measures. Lukashenko's press office explicitly spoke of "agreements with US President Donald Trump" and "illegal sanctions" imposed by the previous administration, now revoked or in the process of being revoked.

The move to Ukraine and the axis with Kiev

Most of the 123 detainees have been transferred to Ukrainian territory. The Ukrainian Coordination Center for Prisoners of War (COC) announced that 114 people released from Belarus are now in Ukraine, where they will receive medical care and, if they wish, can continue on to Poland and Lithuania.

President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that five Ukrainian citizens were among those released, thanking the United States for its role in the negotiations and emphasizing the cooperation of Kiev's intelligence services.

Ales Bialiatski, the Nobel Prize winner who doesn't give up the fight

Among those released, the most notable name is Ales Bialiatski, 63, founder of the Viasna Human Rights Center, one of Belarus's leading organizations monitoring violations and supporting political prisoners. Active in the democratic movement since the 1980s, Bialiatski has been imprisoned several times: from 2011 to 2014 and again since 2021, on charges formally related to alleged tax violations and financing "in violation of public order," considered politically motivated by the EU, the UN, and international NGOs.

In 2022, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to the defense of human rights in the post-Soviet space. The award came while Bialiatsky was already in prison; his wife accepted it, dedicating the prize to the Belarusian people.

After her release, the activist explained her intention to continue her fight for democracy: she recalled that the Nobel Prize was "a recognition of our activities and aspirations, which have not yet been realized," and reiterated that "the struggle continues." From Lithuania, in front of the US Embassy in Vilnius, she described her four and a half years in prison—overcrowded cells, degrading conditions, inadequate medical care—and announced her intention to dedicate herself to her health and then resume her work defending political prisoners remaining behind bars.

Maria Kolesnikova, the face of the 2020 protests

Alongside Bialiatski, the group's other iconic figure is Maria Kolesnikova, 43, a musician and activist who became one of the most recognizable faces of the mass protests against fraud in the 2020 presidential election. An associate of Viktar Babaryka, a banker and presidential candidate who was later disqualified and imprisoned, Kolesnikova had sided with opposition leader Svetlana Tsikhanovskaya in the election campaign and in organizing the demonstrations.

Her arrest in September 2020 was one of the most dramatic episodes of the crackdown: kidnapped by masked men, taken to the Ukrainian border, and threatened with deportation, Kolesnikova had torn up her passport rather than be deported, consciously choosing prison in her homeland rather than forced exile. In 2021, she was sentenced to 11 years on charges of "conspiracy to seize power" and "extremist activities." She spent long periods in solitary confinement, in conditions described by her family and supporters as inhumane, so much so that in 2024 her sister expressed fears for her life.

Viktar Babaryka and other high-profile opponents

The group of 123 also includes other prominent names. Among them is Viktar Babaryka, 62, a former banker and Lukashenko's main potential rival in the 2020 presidential election. He was arrested months before the vote and sentenced to 14 years for fraud and money laundering. His candidacy had galvanized a significant segment of Belarusian society, later contributing to the opposition's unification around Tsikhanovskaya, following her exclusion from the race.

Among those released are lawyer Uladzimir Labkovich, a prominent Viasna figure and former vice president of the International Federation for Human Rights, and other activists, journalists, and foreign citizens, including citizens of the United Kingdom, the United States, Lithuania, Ukraine, Latvia, Australia, and Japan, according to data released by Belarusian media and confirmed by diplomatic sources.

The position of the Nobel Committee and NGOs: a partial relief

The international reaction ranges between relief and caution. The Norwegian Nobel Committee expressed "deep relief and sincere joy" at Bialiatski's release, calling it a "long-awaited" moment. At the same time, it noted that more than 1.200 political prisoners remain in Belarus, a figure consistent with estimates by Viasna and other international NGOs. Hence the direct appeal to the authorities in Minsk to "release all political prisoners without exception."

Viasna, for its part, emphasizes that systemic repression is far from over: over 1.200 people detained for political reasons remain in Belarusian prisons, often in poor health, and subjected to pressure to sign confessions or requests for pardon. The organization also notes that many of the recently released activists were forced into immediate exile, unable to return home, effectively reducing the scope for opposition within the country.

Lukashenko's strategy: tactical opening, not democratic change

Lukashenko's initiative must be interpreted against the backdrop of an extremely delicate internal and external balance. On the one hand, the Belarusian president remains a close ally of Vladimir Putin, having granted his country's territory as a base for Russian troops to launch the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. On the other, there is the burden of Western sanctions, particularly on key sectors such as potassium.

In this context, the release of prisoners appears as a "controlled opening" to the West, serving to obtain immediate economic benefits and presenting Minsk as a useful interlocutor—both in the Ukrainian dossier and in any future regional negotiations—without compromising internal control. It is no coincidence that all the testimonies of the opposition and Viasna converge in describing a prison system that remains a central instrument of intimidation and repression, while the structures of political power and security remain intact.

The role of the United States and the debate on the limits of "sanctions diplomacy"

For Washington, the agreement with Minsk is both a success and a test. On the one hand, the simultaneous release of over a hundred prisoners, including a Nobel Prize winner and high-profile opposition figures, offers concrete proof of the effectiveness of sanctions as a lever to secure humanitarian concessions. On the other, it raises a debate about the risks of legitimizing an authoritarian regime without real guarantees of political reform, especially as the war in Ukraine continues and Belarus remains in Russia's camp.

The opposition in exile is urging Western governments not to ease pressure on the Belarusian authorities, particularly through European sanctions, which are considered more effective in the long term. The challenge will be to keep open the channel that allowed the release of the 123 detainees, but their release certainly represents an important step in Belarus's recent history.