US EditionBelarus Releases 250 Prisoners, Us Agrees Sanctions Relief, Vilnius ...
Belarus freed 250 political prisoners after talks with the U.S., aiming to ease sanctions and reduce international isolation, with over 1,100 prisoners still detained, rights group Viasna said.
- On Thursday, March 19, 2026, Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus, pardoned 250 prisoners after meeting with U.S. envoy John Coale in a deal to lift some sanctions.
- Amid prolonged isolation and sanctions, Belarus faced repeated Western penalties for human-rights abuses and Moscow’s war use, while talks involve restoring the U.S. Embassy in Minsk, Belta reports.
- Human rights group Viasna says more than 1,100 political prisoners remain in Belarus, while U.S. officials eased sanctions in December alongside releasing 123 prisoners to Ukraine and Lithuania.
- Belta reported that talks include restoring the U.S. Embassy in Minsk, the release of political prisoners, sanctions, and a possible U.S. trip for Lukashenko was discussed.
- In the broader context, observers say recent Belarusian prisoner releases aim to win favor with the West amid close Russia ties, with Lukashenko freeing Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski and others this year.
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Belarus dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko has released another large group of political prisoners after talks with the United States. But Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, an opposition leader in exile, warns that the outside world will give legitimacy to Lukashenko. “It is in Europe's interest that not only people are released, but that our country is liberated,” Tsikhanouskaya says in a DN interview.
Belarus releases 250 political prisoners in deal with US
TALLINN, Estonia — Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday ordered the release of 250 political prisoners as part of a deal with Washington that lifted some U.S. sanctions, the latest step in the isolated leader’s effort to improve ties…
Belarus Releases 250 Political Prisoners in Exchange For US Sanctions Relief
Despite the much-publicized US-brokered releases, it is unclear whether Belarusian prisons are getting any emptier. Minsk took nearly 500 new political prisoners in 2025, human rights activists say.
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