Belarus frees 250 political prisoners, US removes more sanctions in latest signs of thaw

2026.03.20 03:20 Rights activist Valiantsin Stefanovic was among those freed on Thursday. Photo: AFP Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko freed 250 prisoners on Thursday - the biggest batch to be released so far - in return for a further easing of US sanctions, the US embassy in neighbouring Lithuania said. The releases were part of a bargaining process in which Lukashenko was seeking a normalisation of ties with Washington after years of isolation and sanctions, in exchange for easing repression in the former Soviet state he has led since 1994. Belarusian ‌human rights group Viasna said before Thursday’s announcement there were more than 1,100 political prisoners in the country. One of those freed was Marfa Rabkova, the coordinator of Viasna’s volunteer network, who was arrested in September 2020 and was serving a sentence of 14 years and nine months for “extremism” and other charges that she denied. Supporters say she has suffered serious health problems in prison. Rights activist Valiantsin Stefanovic was among those freed on Thursday. Photo: AFP Bloggers, activists, journalists and protesters were also among those released after talks in the Belarusian capital Minsk between Lukashenko and John Coale, an envoy for US President Donald Trump. Coale told Reuters he expected all remaining political prisoners to be released by the end of this year. If this happened, ⁠the US would remove all sanctions placed on Belarus over the suppression of protests in 2020, he said. Lukashenko was told on Thursday to cease arresting more political prisoners, said ‌Coale: “Hopefully, we made an impression on him that this is not okay behaviour”. Lukashenko is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, although without sending Belarusian troops to fight there. The US said it had agreed ‌to drop sanctions on two Belarusian banks and the country’s finance ministry, but had made clear to Lukashenko that this must not facilitate o

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