Belarus opposition leader’s husband freed from prison

3 hours ago Share Save Sarah Rainsford Eastern and Southern Europe Correspondent Share Save

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya

The husband of Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has been unexpectedly released from prison in Belarus, along with 13 other political prisoners. Sergei Tikhanovsky – an opposition activist himself – has been moved to Lithuania and reunited with his wife, who is living in exile in capital Vilnius, after five years in prison. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya announced her husband’s release by posting a 10-second video of their first hug since 2020. She said it was “hard to describe” the joy in her heart. The sudden release came as US special envoy Keith Kellogg visited Minsk, Belarus’ capital, on Saturday and held a meeting with the country’s authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

In a statement on X, the Lithuanian foreign minister said 14 political prisoners were released and receiving care in Lithuania. According to Tikhanovskaya’s office, five were Belarusian nationals and some were Japanese, Polish and Swedish citizens. However, Tikhanovksy’s release is by far the most prominent. A colourful, outspoken figure who once had a big following in Belarus on social media, he used to call on people to “stop the cockroach”, referring to Lukashenko. Ignoring the risks from a repressive regime, the video blogger and activist would tour the country to meet people in town squares and villages to hear – and broadcast – their concerns. In 2020, he was arrested as he began his campaign to challenge Lukashenko for the presidency in that summer’s elections.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya Svetlana Tikhanovskaya posted images of her and her husband Sergei Tikhanovsky speaking with released prisoners in Vilnius

He was jailed for 18 years in 2021 after a court convicted him of rallying mass protests against Lukashenko, among other charges. His wife, Tikhanovskaya – a political novice and total unknown – stepped in to run for election in his place. And when Lukashenko declared another landslide win, her supporters flooded the streets in the biggest protests Belarus has ever known. They were crushed, ruthlessly, and Tikhanovskaya was forced into exile. Maria Kolesnikova, another well-known opposition leader who was jailed after the mass protests of 2020, is still in prison, her sister confirmed. “No, not this time,” she wrote to the BBC when asked whether Maria was among those set free. “Though it’s a huge progress. We need more releases and for that – more efforts and negotiations.” In the video posted by Tikhanovskaya on Saturday, Tikhanovsky is smiling broadly but has lost so much weight that he is hard to recognise. Well-built, even stocky before his arrest, he is now thin. In the video, the jacket he is wearing hangs loosely and his head has been shaved. Franak Viacorka, senior adviser to Tikhanovskaya, described this as a “big day” and a very unexpected step. “We didn’t expect his release, we were struggling – fighting – for his release, but it was a full surprise,” he told the BBC from Lithuania. “We put his name on all the lists but we didn’t believe it was possible.” He said that Tikhanovsky was “the same Sergei” he was before he was jailed. “I felt the same energy, the same passion, though he was looking very thin,” he added. Tikhanovskaya wrote on X “my husband is free” before thanking US President Donald Trump, Kellogg and “all European allies” for their efforts to get her husband released. “We’re not done – 1,150 political prisoners remain behind bars,” she added. “All must be released.”

Getty Images Authoritarian Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko took office in 1994

Viacorka said that as far as his team knows, nothing was offered to Belarus in return for Tikhanovsky’s release. “I think he [Lukashenko] is in quite weak situation right now,” Viacorka said. “And he wants to improve relationship with the new American administration.” Artyom Shraibman, of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, suggested that the meeting with Kellogg was reward enough for Lukashenko. “It seems like the US asked for Tikhanovsky to be released as a significant concession in exchange for Kellogg’s visit and Lukashenko agreed,” he said. The Belarusian leader has been isolated by Western politicians for many years. Neither his re-election in 2020 or this year were ever officially recognised and Belarus was placed under Western sanctions. The freeze in relations deepened when Belarus aided Russia in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, allowing troops to cross its territory and missiles to be launched from its land. “It’s a significant diplomatic breakthrough for Lukashenko. It helps to get him out of isolation,” Mr Shraibman said. “I also think Lukashenko will like the opportunity to discuss issues of war and peace with such a top level envoy from the US. “So in some form, this is a win-win.” It is not clear whether the Trump administration is dangling the prospect of lifting some sanctions, though Lukashenko is certainly angling for that. But this release does not mean the end of political repression in Belarus. Hundreds more people are still behind bars for nothing more than their opposition to Lukashenko’s rule. My opponents choose jail and exile, Lukashenko tells BBC Other prisoners have been pardoned and released in recent months, but the repressions have not stopped. The BBC knows of recent cases of the KGB security service demanding people collaborate with its agents and inform on others, or face arrest. They had to flee the country. In the case of Tikhanovsky, it appears Lukashenko calculated that he had more to gain geopolitically by releasing a prominent prisoner than he would risk by letting him go.

AFP via Getty Images In 2020, thousands of people flooded the streets of Minsk to protest against Belarus’ presidential election results

Belarus opposition leader Siarhei Tsikhanouski has been released from prison after five years, his wife Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya said in a post on X.

Tsikhanouskaya, who took over the opposition cause after her husband’s jailing, shared a video of him on Saturday, smiling and embracing her after his release with the caption: “FREE”.

“My husband Siarhei is free! It’s hard to describe the joy in my heart,” she wrote on X, thanking United States President Donald Trump, US envoy Keith Kellogg, and European allies.

“We’re not done. 1150 political prisoners remain behind bars. All must be released,” she added.

My husband Siarhei is free! It’s hard to describe the joy in my heart. Thank you, 🇺🇸 @POTUS, @SPE_Kellogg, @JohnPCoale, DAS Christopher W. Smith, @StateDept & our 🇪🇺 allies, for all your efforts. We’re not done. 1150 political prisoners remain behind bars. All must be released. pic.twitter.com/MhngqBHFq3 — Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (@Tsihanouskaya) June 21, 2025

Tsikhanouski, 46, is now in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius, a spokesperson for his wife said.

A total of 14 prisoners were released, the spokesperson added. Besides Tsikhanouski, five Belarus nationals, three Poles, two Latvians, two Japanese and one Swede were released, Lithuania said.

Among those released was former Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Igor Karnei, who was arrested in 2023 for participating in an “extremist” organisation.

According to the Lithuanian foreign minister Kestutis Budrys, those released have now been transferred from Belarus to Lithuania, where they are receiving “proper care”.

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The announcement came just hours after Lukashenko met US special envoy Keith Kellogg in Minsk, the highest-profile visit of a US official to the authoritarian state in years.

Local media reports said the release came just hours after the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg in Minsk.

Tsikhanouski had planned to run against incumbent Lukashenko in the August 2020 presidential election. A charismatic activist, he coined a new insult for Lukashenko when he called him a “cockroach” and his campaign slogan was “Stop the cockroach”. His supporters waved slippers, often used to kill the insects, at protests.

But Tsikhanouski was arrested and detained weeks before the vote. His wife,Tsikhanouskaya – a political novice at the time of his arrest, took his place in the polls.

Tsikhanouski was sentenced in 2021 to 18 years in prison for “organising riots” and “inciting hatred” and then to 18 months extra for “insubordination”.

Belarus, ruled by Lukashenko since 1994, has outlawed all opposition movements and is the only European country to retain the death penalty as a punishment.

There are more than 1,000 political prisoners in the country, according to the Belarusian human rights group Viasna.

Tikhanovski was imprisoned in 2020 after announcing a plan to challenge Lukashenko in that year’s presidential election.

Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

Dissident Sergei Tikhanovsky, husband of exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a popular blogger and activist, has been released from prison, along with 13 other political prisoners, the non-governmental organization Vyasna announced today, AFP reported.

My husband Siarhei is free! It’s hard to describe the joy in my heart. Thank you, 🇺🇸 @POTUS, @SPE_Kellogg, @JohnPCoale, DAS Christopher W. Smith, @StateDept & our 🇪🇺 allies, for all your efforts. We’re not done. 1150 political prisoners remain behind bars. All must be released. pic.twitter.com/MhngqBHFq3 – Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (@Tsihanouskaya) June 21, 2025

The AP agency writes that Tikhanovsky and the others who were released arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania, just hours after Belarusian authorities announced that the country’s authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko met in Minsk with Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump’s envoy for Ukraine.

Tikhanovsky was imprisoned in 2020 after announcing a plan to challenge Lukashenko in that year’s presidential election. After his arrest, his wife ran in his place, rallying large crowds of supporters across the country. The official election results gave Lukashenko a sixth term, but the opposition and the West denounced them as fraudulent.

Amid unprecedented protests that erupted after the vote, Tikhanovskaya fled the country under pressure from the authorities. Her husband was later sentenced to 19 and a half years in prison on charges of organizing mass riots.

Tikhanovskaya today, AFP reports, thanked Trump and his European partners for securing the release of her husband, who was imprisoned in Belarus for more than five years.

“My husband Sergei is free! It’s hard to describe my joy. We’re not done because 1.150 political prisoners are behind bars. They all need to be released,” Tikhanovskaya wrote on the X platform.

Belarusian authorities have also released 14 prisoners at the request of US President Donald Trump, John Cole, deputy special envoy to Kit Kellogg, said today, TASS reported.

“We just returned from Belarus with 14 people who have now been released from detention,” Cole wrote on the X platform hosted by the US Embassy in Lithuania.

Cole thanked the Lithuanian government for its cooperation and assistance, adding that Trump was “encouraged by his trip” to the region.

The US official said he had previously traveled to Belarus, after which Minsk released American citizen Yuri Zenkovich. He added that this time “14 people from different countries were released.”

Earlier, Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ruslan Varankov said that Minsk sees potential for interaction with the current US administration and is open to dialogue in all areas of cooperation.

Bonus video:

Warsaw, Poland – Belarus freed top opposition figure Sergei Tikhanovsky and over a dozen other political prisoners Saturday following an appeal from the White House , Minsk said, a sign of warming ties between Washington and Belarus-ally Moscow .

This handout photograph – which was made from a video published in the official Telegram channel of Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on Saturday – shows exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya hugging her husband Sergei Tikhanovsky in an unnamed place in Lithuania. © Handout / AFP

The release came just hours after US special envoy Keith Kellogg met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk, the highest-profile visit of a US official to the authoritarian state in years.

Tikhanovsky’s wife Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who took the mantle of the opposition movement after her husband’s jailing, thanked US President Donald Trump directly for brokering the deal.

European politicians and members of Belarus’s exiled opposition also welcomed the news.

The European Union hailed Tikhanovsky’s release as a “symbol of hope,” and a leading activist called it an “important moment.”

Tikhanovsky (46) had been imprisoned for more than five years.

The popular YouTuber had planned to run against Lukashenko in the August 2020 presidential election, but was arrested and detained weeks before the vote.

He was sentenced in 2021 to 18 years in prison for “organizing riots” and “inciting hatred,” then to another 18 months for “insubordination.”

Svetlana – a political novice at the time of his arrest – ran against Lukashenko in her husband’s place but lost after what the opposition described as widespread falsification. She later fled Belarus.

“It’s hard to describe the joy in my heart,” she said in a post on X following her husband’s release.

Belarus freed top opposition figure Sergei Tikhanovsky and more than a dozen other political prisoners Saturday following an appeal from the White House, Minsk said, a sign of warming ties between Washington and Belarus-ally Moscow.

The release came just hours after US special envoy Keith Kellogg met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk, the highest-profile visit of a US official to the authoritarian state in years.

Tikhanovsky’s wife Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who took the mantle of the opposition movement after her husband’s jailing, thanked US President Donald Trump directly for brokering the deal.

European politicians and members of Belarus’s exiled opposition also welcomed the news.

“This is fantastic news and a powerful symbol of hope for all the political prisoners suffering under the brutal Lukashenka regime,” European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said on X.

“Europe continues to call for their immediate release,” she added.

Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski expressed his “sincerest joy”, while Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics called Tikhanovsky’s freedom a “much awaited and long overdue moment”.

Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul welcomed Tikhanovsky’s release as “fantastically good news”, in a post to X.

“At the same time, we must not forget the many other prisoners in Belarus. Lukashenko must finally release them,” he added.

Pavel Latushko, a former culture minister in Belarus who supported the 2020 protests against Lukashenko, also hailed Tikhanovsky’s release as an “important moment”.

– Transferred to Lithuania –

Tikhanovsky, 46, had been imprisoned for more than five years.

The popular Youtuber had planned to run against Lukashenko in the August 2020 presidential election, but was arrested and detained weeks before the vote.

He was sentenced in 2021 to 18 years in prison for “organising riots” and “inciting hatred”, then to another 18 months for “insubordination”.

Svetlana — a political novice at the time of her husband’s arrest — ran against Lukashenko in his place but lost after what the opposition described as widespread falsification. She later fled Belarus.

“It’s hard to describe the joy in my heart,” she said in a post on X following her husband’s release.

Among the 13 others freed were Radio Liberty journalist Igor Karnei, arrested in 2023 and jailed for participating in an “extremist” organisation.

They have now been transferred from Belarus to Lithuania, where they were receiving “proper care”, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said.

Though none of the released prisoners needed emergency medical assistance, “one of them needed emergency medical attention” as “they were imprisoned in difficult conditions”, Budrys told the LRT public broadcaster, without elaborating.

Swedish-Belarusian citizen Galina Krasnyanskaya, arrested in 2023 for allegedly supporting Ukraine, was also freed, said Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

Belarus, ruled by Lukashenko since 1994, has outlawed all genuine opposition parties. It is the only European country to retain the death penalty as a punishment.

The eastern European country still holds more than 1,000 political prisoners in its jails, according to Belarusian human rights group Viasna.

– ‘Sincerest joy’ –

Lukashenko’s spokeswoman said the Belarusian leader had ordered the release of the prisoners on Trump’s “request”, Russian state media reported.

The US leader appeared to take credit, writing “Thank you President Trump!” on social media, alongside a link to a news story about the prisoner release.

Since taking office, Trump has engaged in direct talks with Vladimir Putin, ending his predecessor’s policy of isolating the Russian president.

The two nuclear powers have since worked to normalise diplomatic ties, which have for years lingered at their lowest point since the Cold War.

Tikhanovsky was for years held incommunicado, and in 2023 his wife was told that he had “died”.

In a video published by Viasna on Saturday, he appeared almost unrecognisable, his head shaven and face emaciated.

A charismatic activist, Tikhanovsky drew the ire of authorities for describing Lukashenko as a “cockroach” and his campaign slogan was “Stop the cockroach.”

Lukashenko claimed a landslide victory in the 2020 election, a result that sparked massive opposition protests which authorities violently suppressed.

The Belarusian autocrat claimed a record seventh term in elections earlier this year that observers dismissed as a farce.

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