Belarus Pardons Opposition Figure Tsikhanouski After Rare US Envoy Visit

Belarus on 21 June freed prominent opposition figure Siarhei Tsikhanouski and 13 other political prisoners shortly after U.S. special envoy Keith Kellogg held a six-hour meeting with President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk. Lukashenko’s office said the detainees were pardoned at Washington’s request, marking the highest-level U.S. engagement with the Belarusian leader in years.

Tsikhanouski, a 46-year-old blogger who sought to challenge Lukashenko in the disputed 2020 presidential election, had been sentenced in 2021 to 18 years on charges of organizing mass unrest and inciting hatred. He spent more than five years behind bars before being driven across the border to Vilnius, where he reunited with his wife, exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Lithuanian officials said all 14 freed individuals are receiving medical checks and assistance.

The releases come as Lukashenko, an ally of Russia, seeks to ease international isolation amid Western sanctions over his human-rights record and support for Moscow’s war in Ukraine. While European Union and U.S. officials welcomed the move, human-rights groups noted that roughly 1,150 political prisoners remain in Belarusian jails, and Tsikhanouskaya urged further action to secure their freedom.

Diplomats and analysts said the prisoner deal could signal tentative rapprochement between Minsk and Washington, but cautioned that systemic repression in Belarus persists. The envoy’s visit, framed by the White House as part of broader regional security efforts, may pave the way for additional talks, yet concrete steps toward democratic reforms have not been announced.