Belarus Opposition Leader Tsikhanouski Freed After Five Years

Report by “Safarti Tarjuman” International News Desk

Syarhei Tsikhanouski, a prominent Belarusian opposition leader and political prisoner, has been released after spending nearly five years behind bars, following a surprise presidential pardon that coincided with renewed U.S. diplomatic engagement with President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime.

Tsikhanouski’s release was announced Saturday, with his wife, exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, sharing an emotional video on social media showing the couple reunited. “My husband Siarhei is free! It’s hard to describe the joy in my heart,” she wrote.

Now based in Lithuania, Tsikhanouskaya thanked U.S. President Donald Trump, Special Envoy Gen. Keith Kellogg, and European allies for their roles in securing her husband’s release. She emphasized the continued fight for justice, noting that over 1,150 political prisoners remain detained in Belarus.

The release came just hours after Gen. Kellogg met with President Lukashenko in Minsk, the most significant U.S.-Belarus contact since the 2020 post-election crackdown. Belarusian outlet *Nasha Niva* reported that 14 political prisoners were freed in total, a move widely seen as an attempt by Lukashenko to ease mounting international isolation.

The diplomatic breakthrough follows months of behind-the-scenes negotiations amid increasing Western pressure for democratic reforms and the release of detainees.

Tsikhanouski, a popular YouTube blogger-turned-activist, was arrested in May 2020 shortly after announcing his candidacy in the presidential race. He became a symbol of resistance to Lukashenko’s 30-year rule. Convicted on charges of “inciting social unrest,” he was sentenced to 18 years in what rights groups called a politically motivated show trial.

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