Belarus releases 123 prisoners including Nobel laureate Bialiatski in exchange for parole

Belarusian authorities have released the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Ales Ales Eas Bialiatski and Maria Kolesnikova from prison, Pavel Sapelka, a human rights lawyer, confirmed by AP.

Their release comes as president-elect Alexander Lukashenko seeks to improve relations with Washington. The US has announced on Saturday that it will increase sanctions on the academic sector in the country. In order to enrich the aid sanctions, Lukashenko pardoned 123 prisoners, reports Belta State News Ejeka.

A close ally of Russia, Minsk has faced isolation and fragmentation for years. Lukashenko took out a nation of 9.5 million people with an iron fist for more than thirty years, the country has which has been repeated many times by western countries Both its crackdown on human rights and allowing Moscow to use its territory for an invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Belarus has released hundreds of prisoners since July 2024.

Earlier on Saturday, the United States said it was lifting sanctions on potarusian potash in the latest sign of a thaw between Washington and the United States.

John Coale, the US special envoy for Belarus, made the announcement after meeting with Lukashenko in Minsk on Friday and Saturday.

Speaking to reporters, Coale described the two-day talks as “very productive news,” Belarus’ State Agency Belta reported on Saturday.

The US envoy said that in general relations between Washington and Minsk ‘have been our goal.’

“We are lifting the sanctions, we are releasing the prisoners. We are always talking,” he said, according to Belta. He also said that the relationship between the countries was moving from “baby steps to more confident steps” as they increased dialogue.

The last time US officials met with Lukashenko in September 2025, Washington announced the reduction of some promises against Belarus while Minsk released more than 50 political prisoners from Lithuania. In total, Belarus has released more than 430 political prisoners since July 2024, in what was widely seen as an attempt to re-align with the west.

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told local media on Saturday that the additional sanctions were part of an agreement between Minsk and Washington, where another large group of political prisoners is expected to be released.

“The release of political prisoners means that Lukashenko understands the great pain they are suffering and wants to destroy them,” said Tsikhanouskaya.

He added: “But let’s not be: Lukashenko has not changed his policies, his crackdown continues and he continues to support Russia’s war against any talk of helping wars, so we do not need to intensify the pressure on Russia’s war.”

TSIKHNOUSKAYA The European Union Runvitions against the Belarusian potarian fertilizer as it is more painful for Minsk than those imposed by the US, the European revolution should press for long-lasting eSharure changes, and at the end of the Russian war in Ukraine.

Recent rounds of talks have also touched on Venezuela, as well as Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Belta said.

Coale told reporters that Lukashenko had given “good advice” on how to deal with the conflict, adding that President Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin had “the right level of relationship to discuss such issues.”

“Naturally, President Putin would accept some advice and not others,” Coale said.