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The husband of the Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhonovskaya was unexpectedly released from prison in Belarus together with other political prisoners.
Sergei Tikhonovsky was transferred to Lithuania and reunited with his wife, who lives in exile in the capital of Vilnius.
Of course, at least 10 prisoners were released, including former RFE journalist Ihar Carney.
The sudden issue came out when a special messenger Keith Kealo took place in Minsk on Saturday and met with authoritarian Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
Personnel on social media sharing Tikhonovskaya’s representatives show that the couple smiles and hugs, and Tikhonovsky seems to have lost his great weight.
“My husband … Free! Hard to describe joy in my heart,” Tikhonovskaya wrote on X.
Thanks to Donald Trump, Kela and “all European allies” for the efforts to release her husband, she added: “We have not finished. 1,150 political prisoners remain behind bars. Everyone must be released.”
Other released prisoners include five Belarusian citizens and Japanese, Polish and Swedish citizens, Tikhonov’s office reports. In a statement on X, the Lithuanian Foreign Minister said 14 political prisoners were assisting in Lithuania.
Maria Kolesnikova, one of the most famous opposition leaders who was imprisoned after the 2020 protests, is still in prison, her sister confirmed.
Tikhonovskaya stood in the August 2020 elections after her husband, a former blogger and presidential candidate Tikhonovsky were taken into custody. In 2021 he was imprisoned for 18 years.
His wife ran to his place and declared victory in the elections, which were believed to be Lukashenko’s supporters, but she was forced into exile With their children the day after the vote.
Since then, she has led the efforts to resist Lukashenko in power since 1994.
Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians have estimated since the brutal repression of widespread opposition protests in 2020.
Tens of thousands of people have been arrested in the country over the last five years for political reasons, according to the Viasna Human Rights Group.
