Belarus: Opposition politician Sergei Tichanowski is free
After several years in prison, one of the leaders of the opposition in Belarus, Sergei Tsikhanovsky, has been released from prison. The United States and European states intervened as mediators.
The non-governmental organization Vyazna in Belarus announced that Sergei Tsikhanovsky had been released along with 13 other political prisoners. Tsikhanovsky, 46, husband of Belarusian opposition politician Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, was arrested in May 2020 after announcing his intention to run against current President Alexander Lukashenko in the upcoming presidential election.
In December 2021, a court in Belarus sentenced blogger and government opponent Tsikhanovsky to 18 years in prison, among other things for organizing "mass unrest."
Now, according to Vyasna, he has been pardoned. His wife, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, posted a video on the X messaging service showing her husband embracing her after his release. "My husband is free," she wrote, thanking the US and European allies for their support. At the same time, she pointed out: "1,150 political prisoners remain behind bars." All of them must be released.
According to the opposition, Tichanowski is now in Vilnius, the capital of the Baltic Republic of Lithuania .
After Tsikhanovsky's imprisonment, his wife Svetlana replaced him and challenged Lukashenko as a presidential candidate. Despite massive allegations of fraud, Lukashenko was officially declared the winner after the election in August 2020. This triggered unprecedented mass protests. These were violently suppressed, and thousands of government critics were arrested or fled into exile. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya also fled her homeland and has since been fighting from exile for democracy in Belarus, against Lukashenko, and for the release of all political prisoners.
Before announcing the release of the opposition figures, Lukashenko met with US Special Envoy Keith Kellogg on Saturday, according to the Belarusian news agency Belta. The topics discussed included the global political situation and bilateral relations between the two countries, Belta reported. Kellogg was the highest-ranking US official to visit Belarus in years.
Lukashenko has ruled the Eastern European country with an iron fist since 1994. In January, he was declared the winner of the presidential election again – his seventh term in office. Lukashenko is a close ally and supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin . Belarus is politically and economically dependent on Russia .
se/sth (afp, rtr, ap, dpa)
dw
