Alexander Lukashenko has released one of the leaders of the Belarusian opposition, Nikolai Statkevich.
Activist Igor Losik, Elena Romanauskene (accused of espionage), Belarusian philosopher and methodologist Vladimir Matskevich, who had been charged with organizing protests and nearly served his full sentence, as well as journalist Irina Slavnikova have been also freed.
Protest leaders Maria Kolesnikova and Viktor Babariko were not among those released.
Immediately after their release, all except Nikolai Statkevich left the country and are now in Lithuania. The former presidential candidate refused to leave Belarus, saying that he «will decide his own fate.»
It was reported earlier that the United States lifted sanctions on the Belarusian airline Belavia. This was announced by Donald Trump’s Special Envoy John Coale during a meeting with President Alexander Lukashenko.
The President of Lithuania reported that 52 prisoners had been released in Belarus and crossed into Lithuania. He added that among those freed were citizens of the United Kingdom, Latvia, Poland, Germany, and France.
