Belarus Frees 123 Political Prisoners as US Lifts Potash Export Sanctions

Belarus freed 123 prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and prominent opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova, on 13 December in the largest mass release of political detainees since the country’s disputed 2020 election, as Washington agreed to lift key sanctions on Belarusian potash exports.cnn +1 The deal marked a rare diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and a close Russian ally that has helped facilitate Moscow’s war in Ukraine.aljazeera

The prisoners were moved out of Belarus within hours, with about 114 taken to Ukraine and nine to Lithuania, according to officials involved in the transfer.politico U.S. special envoy John Coale said the sanctions relief was designed to “normalize relations” with Minsk if further progress on human rights followed.reuters

What Was in the Deal?

Under the agreement, the U.S. removed sanctions on Belarusian potash fertilisers, a sector that had generated billions of dollars in annual export revenue before Western penalties were imposed after the 2020 crackdown.aljazeera +1 The Treasury action, announced in Washington shortly after news of the releases, restored access for Belarus’s largest state-owned potash producer to global markets.cbsnews

In exchange, President Alexander Lukashenko’s government pardoned 123 people held on charges ranging from “extremism” and “terrorism” to espionage—labels widely rejected by human rights groups, which had counted them as political prisoners.jsonline +1 Among those freed were Bialiatski, jailed in 2021 and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 for his work documenting abuses, and Kolesnikova, a protest leader sentenced to 11 years in 2021 for helping organise the mass demonstrations that followed Lukashenko’s contested re-election.cnn +1

Lukashenko publicly denied that Belarus ever held political prisoners, describing the released detainees as “bandits” and insisting Minsk had not bowed to outside pressure.nytimes

A Turning Point for Belarus and the West?

The December release capped a broader, quieter process: more than 400 prisoners have been freed in stages since July 2024, including at least 70 earlier this year after visits by U.S. delegations.pbs +1 Rights organisations welcomed the latest move as “long overdue” but warned that hundreds of activists, journalists and protesters remain behind bars.washingtonpost

For Washington, the deal was part of a strategy to peel Belarus slightly away from Moscow without upending its security alliance with Russia.aljazeera +1 Analysts noted that the potash sanctions were among the most painful economic tools the West had deployed, and their removal signaled that further relief could follow if Minsk continues to release detainees and reins in repression.cbsnews +1

Belarus’s opposition-in-exile greeted the freed prisoners while cautioning that Lukashenko was acting out of weakness, not reform. Kolesnikova, speaking after arriving safely outside Belarus, said she felt “incredible happiness” at her release but added that she had “no regrets” about challenging the regime.abcnews +1 European governments indicated they would coordinate closely with Washington on any next steps, keeping pressure on Lukashenko even as a rare opening emerges in one of Europe’s most entrenched autocracies.washingtonpost +1