Foreign Minister: Belarus prisoner release ‘good news,’ but 1,000 still detained

Belarus released 123 political prisoners this week, a development described as “good news” by caretaker Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel, though he emphasized that many opponents of President Aleksandr Lukashenko remain in detention.

“Families are reunited,” Van Weel wrote on X. “At the same time, more than 1,000 others are still imprisoned, and many Belarusians continue to live in fear of being wrongfully arrested.”

All released prisoners were expelled from Belarus to Lithuania and Ukraine.

Among those freed were high-profile figures, including Ales Bjaljazki, a Nobel Peace Prize winner three years ago, and Maria Kolesnikova, who played a leading role in the major protests in Belarus in 2020.

The release followed mediation by U.S. Special Envoy John Coale. In return, the United States lifted trade sanctions on Belarusian potash, a key raw material used in fertilizer production.