Belarus opposition chief Siarhei Tsikhanouski free of jail after uncommon go to by high US envoy

[ad_1] A jailed opposition chief in Belarus has been freed and is now in Lithuania.

Siarhei Tsikhanouski was launched together with 13 different political prisoners following talks between Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Keith Kellogg, who's President Trump 's envoy for Ukraine.

Mr Kellogg grew to become the highest-ranking US official in years to go to Belarus , which is an in depth ally of Russia .

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Enable Cookies Allow Cookies Once Mr Tsikhanouski, a blogger and activist, was arrested after saying he would run for the presidency in opposition to Mr Lukashenko within the 2020 election.

He was sentenced to 18 years in jail the next 12 months after a courtroom discovered him responsible of organising mass unrest and of inciting social hatred.

After he was detained, his spouse Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya ran in his place and she became an opposition leader who's now in exile in Lithuania .

Extra on Alexander Lukashenko Though Mr Lukashenko was formally declared the winner of the election , the outcome was denounced by the opposition and the West as a sham.

On Saturday, a video on Ms Tsikhanouskaya's social media confirmed Mr Tsikhanouski getting out of a minibus and smiling regardless of his emaciated look. He and his spouse hugged as their supporters clapped.

She stated: "My husband is free. It is troublesome to explain the enjoyment in my coronary heart."

She thanked Mr Trump, Mr Kellogg and "all European allies" for his or her efforts in getting him launched.

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<img class="sdc-article-image__item" loading="lazy" intrinsicsize="768x432" src="https://e3.365dm.com/25/06/768x432/skynews-sviatlana-tsikhanouskaya_6947572.jpg?20250621190127" srcset="https://e3.365dm.com/25/06/384x216/skynews-sviatlana-tsikhanouskaya_6947572.jpg?20250621190127 380w, https://e3.365dm.com/25/06/768x432/skynews-sviatlana-tsikhanouskaya_6947572.jpg?20250621190127 760w, https://e3.365dm.com/25/06/1600x900/skynews-sviatlana-tsikhanouskaya_6947572.jpg?20250621190127 1024w, https://e3.365dm.com/25/06/2048x1152/skynews-sviatlana-tsikhanouskaya_6947572.jpg?20250621190127 2048w" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 1024px, 100vw" alt="Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in January 2025 with a picture of her husband. Pic: Reuters"/> Picture: Ms Tsikhanouskaya in January 2025 with an image of her husband. Pic: Reuters However she added her staff's work was "not completed", with greater than 1,100 political prisoners nonetheless locked up in Belarus.

The 14 who have been freed on Saturday included 5 Belarus nationals in addition to three Poles, two Latvians, two Japanese residents, one Estonian and one Swede.

Amongst these launched was Ihar Karnei, a former journalist at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

<img class="sdc-article-image__item" loading="lazy" intrinsicsize="768x432" src="https://e3.365dm.com/25/06/768x432/skynews-ihar-karnei-belarus_6947575.jpg?20250621190420" srcset="https://e3.365dm.com/25/06/384x216/skynews-ihar-karnei-belarus_6947575.jpg?20250621190420 380w, https://e3.365dm.com/25/06/768x432/skynews-ihar-karnei-belarus_6947575.jpg?20250621190420 760w, https://e3.365dm.com/25/06/1600x900/skynews-ihar-karnei-belarus_6947575.jpg?20250621190420 1024w, https://e3.365dm.com/25/06/2048x1152/skynews-ihar-karnei-belarus_6947575.jpg?20250621190420 2048w" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 1024px, 100vw" alt="Ihar Karnei, a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist, who has also been freed from jail. Pic: AP"/> Picture: Ihar Karnei, a former journalist at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has additionally been free of jail. Pic: AP 'Free world wants you'

European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen stated on X the discharge was "incredible information and a strong image of hope for all of the political prisoners struggling beneath the brutal Lukashenka (sic) regime".

"The free world wants you, Siarhei!", Poland's international minister Radoslaw Sikorski stated on X.

On the assembly between Mr Lukashenko and Mr Kellogg within the Belarusian capital Minsk, the pair hugged.

<img class="sdc-article-image__item" loading="lazy" intrinsicsize="768x432" src="https://e3.365dm.com/25/06/768x432/skynews-alexander-lukashenko_6947578.jpg?20250621190721" srcset="https://e3.365dm.com/25/06/384x216/skynews-alexander-lukashenko_6947578.jpg?20250621190721 380w, https://e3.365dm.com/25/06/768x432/skynews-alexander-lukashenko_6947578.jpg?20250621190721 760w, https://e3.365dm.com/25/06/1600x900/skynews-alexander-lukashenko_6947578.jpg?20250621190721 1024w, https://e3.365dm.com/25/06/2048x1152/skynews-alexander-lukashenko_6947578.jpg?20250621190721 2048w" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 1024px, 100vw" alt="Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko greets Trump envoy Keith Kellogg in Minsk. Pic: AP"/> Picture: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko greets Trump envoy Keith Kellogg in Minsk. Pic: AP Mr Lukashenko stated: "I actually hope that our dialog can be very honest and open. In any other case, what's the level of assembly?

"If we're intelligent and crafty in entrance of one another, we is not going to obtain outcomes. You've gotten made a variety of noise on this planet along with your arrival."

Mr Lukashenko, who has been in energy since 1994, secured a seventh term in office following an election in January this 12 months that the opposition referred to as a farce.

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Tap to follow Might Belarus sanctions be lifted?

It was not instantly clear whether or not Mr Kellogg's go to may pave the best way for the lifting of some US sanctions in opposition to Belarus.

They have been imposed over the crackdown on the 2020 protests and Mr Lukashenko's help of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Belarus has allowed the Kremlin to make use of its territory to ship troops and weapons into Ukraine, and likewise to place its forces and nuclear weapons there.