Belarus Frees 25 Prisoners as US Lifts Sanctions on Two Firms, Envoy Says

Belarus has released 25 prisoners as part of an agreement under which the United States will lift sanctions on two Belarusian companies, US special envoy for Belarus John Coale said on Wednesday.

Coale's announcement followed a meeting with President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Tuesday. The Belarusian leader had sought relief from the remaining US sanctions on his country.

"25 prisoners are free today!" Coale wrote on X, describing the outcome as a result of direct diplomacy. He thanked Lukashenko and authorities in Lithuania, a neighbouring European Union member, for their support, and said Washington would keep working to secure the release of more people soon.

Belarusian state media quoted Coale as saying the two sides made significant progress in Tuesday's talks and that the US would lift sanctions on two Belarusian companies. Belarusian authorities have not yet announced details of the prisoners' release.

Lukashenko, who has ruled the country of 9.5 million for more than three decades, said before the meeting that he was open to discussing "a deal big or small." He also expressed interest in talks on lifting more US sanctions and on exporting Belarusian fertilisers to the US.

The release is the latest in a series of US-mediated arrangements since President Donald Trump returned to office. In March, Lukashenko ordered the release of 250 political prisoners while Washington lifted sanctions on two state banks, the Finance Ministry and top potash producers. In April, prominent journalist Andrzej Poczobut was freed in a swap with Poland that saw 10 people released in total.

Belarus has faced repeated Western sanctions over its human rights record and its decision to allow Moscow to use its territory for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Lukashenko's rule was challenged after the 2020 presidential election, when hundreds of thousands protested a vote they saw as rigged. The ensuing crackdown saw tens of thousands detained, many beaten by police, and prominent opposition figures jailed or forced into exile. He won a seventh term last year in an election the opposition called a farce.

Belarusian opposition leader-in-exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya welcomed the US engagement, saying she was deeply grateful to Trump, Coale and the administration for prioritising political prisoners and that their efforts had already produced results. But she stressed that repression continues and that Lukashenko keeps supporting Russia's war, adding that the aim should be to empty the prisons rather than rehabilitate the dictatorship.

According to the Viasna human rights centre, 887 political prisoners remain in Belarus.