Belarus Releases 123 Political Prisoners After US Talks

Belarusian authorities released 123 political prisoners on Saturday, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and prominent opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova, following talks between U.S. special envoy John Coale and President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk. The move coincided with the United States announcing the lifting of sanctions on Belarus's potash industry, a key export sector for the country.

The releases mark the largest single batch of prisoner pardons by Lukashenko since negotiations with Washington began earlier this year. According to the Viasna human rights group, those freed included Bialiatski, who received the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize while imprisoned and was sentenced to 10 years in 2023 on charges of smuggling and financing public order violations, widely viewed as politically motivated. Kolesnikova, a 43-year-old flautist and key organizer of the 2020 protests against Lukashenko's disputed reelection, had been serving an 11-year sentence for conspiracy to seize power. Other notable releases encompassed opposition presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka, sentenced to 14 years on similar charges; lawyer Maxim Znak, who worked on Babaryka's campaign...