Belarusian activist is imprisoned after five years of service attempt to run for president

Belarus' main opposition figure Siarhei Tsikhanouski was released on Saturday after more than five years in prison, and so far the most important move by President Alexander Lukashenko was attempting to ease his isolation from the West.

The 46-year-old was taken to the border into Lithuania to reunite with his wife Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leader of the exiled Belarusian opposition.

The Lithuanian government says 13 other prisoners were also released and released there talks Between Lukashenko and the U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg. In total, five Belarusians were released along with three Poles, two Latvians, two Japanese citizens, one Estonian and one Swedish.

A video released in her office showed Tsikhanouski coming out of a shaved van, smiling and immediately stood up and hugged his wife.

“It's hard to describe my inner joy,” she said.

Tsikhanouskaya's chief political adviser Franak Viacorka told Reuters that Tsikhanouski lost weight and suffered losses in his health. He said he “looks like a different person” but was uplifted and joked with U.S. officials.

Viacorka said Tsikhanouski described “the horrible thing that happened to him, but he didn’t break…he wanted to continue fighting.”

In a post on X, Tsikhanouskaya thanks the US President Donald Trumpand Kellogg and others’ efforts to ensure the husband’s release.

Lukashenko has been rejected by the West for years after brutal suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations in 2020 Invasion of Ukraine in 2022 From Belarusian territory.

Over the past year, he has released more than 300 prisoners, a beginning that political analysts believe is trying to restore relations with Western governments and seek international sanctions against Belarus. Opposition politician Maria Kalesnikava and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiaatski are the most outstanding of those who stay in prison.

“We are not done yet,” Tsikhanouskaya wrote.

His spokesman Natalya Eismont said Lukashenko, who requested the United States, issued a pardon for everyone released Saturday. She said in a statement that the released Belarusians were “convicted of extremism and terrorism.”

She said the decision to release Tsikhanouski “is taken into account humanitarian considerations strictly by the president, with the purpose of unity.”

Eismont said Kellogg's speech with Lukashenko began Friday night and the dinner lasted 6.5 hours, covering the Ukrainian conflict, middle Eastrelations between Russia, Belarus and China and sanctions policy.

“That was the end of the night,” she said. “The topic of the discussion is conceivable, and they talk about things related to the entire world.”

Reuters reported on Tuesday that Kellogg was the top U.S. official who visited Berarus for many years. See his mission As someone who can help end peace negotiations Russia's war against Ukraine.

Ihar Karnei, the person who issued the Belarusian issue by Stephen Capus, RFE/RL President and CEO, is Ihar Karnei.

Viacorka said the freed people did not know where they were going when they were taken from the cell.

“They were handcuffed and taken to the car, to the border. They were surprised and didn't know who released them, why they were released, what happened. It was great to see the happiness in their eyes.”

He said they were taken to the U.S. Embassy to eat pizza and drink coke and were given a cell phone so they could talk to their family for the first time in years.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the release was “wonderful news and a powerful symbol of hope for all political prisoners suffering under the brutal Lukashenka regime.”

“The free world needs you, Siyar!” Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on X.

Video blogger Tsikhanouski was arrested in 2020 while planning to fight against Lukashenko’s president and convicted of organizing massive unrest and inciting social hatred the following year. He was sentenced to 19½ years, one of the longest prison term in modern Belarus’ history.

His supporters say the allegations are fabricated and politically motivated. Sviatlana ran in his election, following Lukashenko's claim to defeat the mountain Italy victory, with opposition and Western governments accusing him of taking the result.

Viacorka said Tsikhanouski's release will inspire exiled opposition.

“This is a big driving force for our fight, and I think it will attract the attention of Belarusian political prisoners and the current world Belarus – we have to take advantage of this momentum.”