Belarus Frees 123 Prisoners Including Nobel Laureate in US Sanctions Deal

On Saturday, Belarusian authorities opened the prison gates for 123 people, among them Ales Bialiatski, who had won the Nobel Peace Prize while locked away awaiting trial. The release came as part of a negotiated settlement with Washington that would lift American sanctions on Belarus' fertilizer exports—a vital economic lifeline for a country that has spent decades under the authoritarian grip of President Alexander Lukashenko.

Bialiatski, 63, had spent 1,613 days inside a penal colony in Gorki, a facility known for beatings and forced labor. He emerged pale and visibly diminished but spoke with clarity and purpose. When asked about his release, he described it as stepping suddenly from ice water into a warm room. Yet his first thoughts were not for himself. More than a thousand political prisoners, he said, remained behind bars in Belarus simply because they had chosen freedom. He intended to be their voice.

The Nobel laureate had founded Viasna, Belarus' oldest and most prominent human rights organization, decades before his imprisonment. He was convicted on charges of smuggling and financing actions that violated public order—accusations that international observers and human rights groups have consistently characterized as politically motivated. Another Viasna activist, Uladzimir Labkovich, was implicated in the same case and was also freed Saturday.

Among the released was Maria Kolesnikova, 43, a professional flutist who became one of the most recognizable faces of resistance during the mass protests that convulsed Belarus in 2020. She had worked closely with opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who was forced into exile after challenging Lukashenko in that year's presidential election. Kolesnikova's defiance became legendary in September 2020 when authorities drove her to the Ukrainian border with the intention of deporting her. She tore up her passport and walked back into Belarus, where she was immediately arrested again. She was convicted in 2021 on charges including conspiracy to seize power and sentenced to 11 years. While imprisoned, she fell seriously ill and underwent surgery. On Saturday, she spoke of incredible happiness at seeing the faces of those she loved, at being able to embrace them as free people. But she too thought of those still locked away, saying she looked forward to the day when they could all embrace each other.

Viktar Babaryka, a 62-year-old banker and philanthropist, had entered politics in 2020 with the intention of running against Lukashenko. He quickly gained broad popular support but was denied registration for the race and jailed less than two months before the election. He called it medieval repression. Convicted on corruption charges widely seen as politically driven, he received a 14-year sentence in July 2021. The U.S. embassy at the time called the verdict a cruel sham, stating that Lukashenko's regime would stop at nothing to maintain power. Maxim Znak, a lawyer who worked with Babaryka's campaign and was convicted alongside him, was also released Saturday.

The release included journalists as well. Maryna Zolatava, editor of Tut.by, a popular independent news site, had been arrested in May 2021 and sentenced to 12 years on charges of incitement and distributing materials deemed to harm national security—accusations authorities routinely deploy against independent media and opposition figures. International journalism organizations, including Reporters Without Borders, had repeatedly called for her release. Andrzej Poczobut, a 52-year-old correspondent for Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza and a prominent figure in Belarus' Polish minority, was arrested in March 2021 for his coverage of the post-election protests. Convicted in February 2023 of damaging national security and inciting hatred, he received an eight-year sentence and was sent to a harsh maximum-security facility despite health concerns. He had repeatedly refused to seek Lukashenko's pardon.

The release represents the latest in a series of prisoner discharges that began in July 2024, widely understood as Lukashenko's attempt to ease the weight of Western sanctions that have burdened the country. Belarus, a nation of 9.5 million, has been repeatedly sanctioned by the West for its systematic suppression of dissent and for allowing Russia to use its territory as a staging ground for the invasion of Ukraine. Lukashenko, who has ruled for more than three decades as a close ally of Moscow, has shown willingness to trade prisoners for sanctions relief.

Yet the Saturday release, significant as it was, left more than a thousand political prisoners still behind bars. Among those remaining are Viasna activists Marfa Rabkova and Valiantsin Stefanovic, and Eduard Babaryka, the son of Viktar, who had helped manage his father's presidential campaign. For those released, the work of advocacy continues. For those still imprisoned, the wait goes on.