Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenka’s regime released 123 unlawfully detained political prisoners on Dec. 13, 2025, who had been imprisoned for their political activism and fight for freedom in the country. While the release at the request of the Trump Administration is cause for celebration, these individuals should not have spent any time behind bars for their political participation and struggle for democratic rights in Belarus. Over 1100 political prisoners remain unjustly held in the country, according to a leading Belarusian human rights organization.
Elected in Belarus’ only free and fair election in the post-Soviet era in 1994, Lukashenka has ruled Belarus with an iron fist, rigging elections, silencing and imprisoning opposition, and closing civic space. Lukashenka enjoys strong support from Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and has done Putin’s bidding in the region, including supporting Putin’s unprovoked war in Ukraine and the illegal abduction of Ukrainian children who have been sent to Russia.
Political imprisonment is used by dictators around the world to suppress opposition, squelch political debate, and deny democratic rights to those who do not support their autocratic rule.
Many of those released have done remarkable work for democracy in Belarus and have already vowed to continue their struggle.
Nobel Peace prize winner Ales Bialiatski was one of the prisoners released. Bialiatski is a human rights advocate who founded Viasna Human Rights Center. After political imprisonment from 2011 to 2014, Bialiatski was again arrested in 2021 and was unjustly sentenced in 2023 to ten years in prison for “smuggling” and other crimes. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 while in captivity, along with the Russian human rights group Memorial and Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties.
Also released was Viktar Babaryka, an opposition figure and banker who ran against Lukashenka in the 2020 presidential election. Babaryka was convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison ahead of the election, which was widely seen as fraudulent.
Another leading activist released was Maria Kolesnikova, who was central to the mass protests that shook Belarus in 2020. Kolesnikova is a close ally of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, exiled opposition leader who most international observers believe won the 2020 election against Lukashenka. Tsikhanouskaya’s husband, former political candidate Siarhei Tsikhanouski, was released in July 2025.
The release took place following significant negotiations led by the United States and a two-day visit to Minsk by President Donald Trump’s new special envoy, John Coale. The United States has also agreed to lift sanctions on Belarusian potash, a key ingredient in fertilizer.
