Belarus releases over 100 prisoners including opposition leader Kolesnikova, US lifts potassium fertilizer sanctions
The Belarusian news agency Belta announced that Belarus released 123 prisoners on Saturday, December 13. According to the human rights organization Viasna, among them were Ales Bialiatski, co-recipient of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize and activist, and opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova. The release of these political prisoners occurred following talks between Minsk and Washington.
According to this station's French department, the affiliated account of President Lukashenko, Poul Pervogo, announced on Telegram that after these discussions, Lukashenko pardoned "123 citizens from different countries," but did not provide the names of those released.
Maria Kolesnikova has been imprisoned since September 2020, when she resisted attempts to deport her. She was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2021 and spent more than four years in prison, with one and a half years in solitary confinement, with no contact with the outside world. This co-recipient of the Sakharov Prize was one of the key figures in the 2020 protest movement against Lukashenko.
Trump's envoy visits and sanctions lifted
This release took place the day after a special envoy of U.S. President Trump visited Belarus. The envoy announced that the United States would lift sanctions on potassium fertilizer produced by this Russian close ally, an Eastern European country. "According to the instructions of President Trump, we the United States will lift the sanctions on potassium fertilizer," John Coale said in Minsk while speaking to the media. This video was posted on Telegram by the Poul Pervogo account, which is affiliated with the President's office of Belarus.
Belarus is an important producer of potassium fertilizer, which is mainly used for making fertilizers. However, due to Belarus's repression of the opposition and Minsk's support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the country's industry and other economic sectors have been under strict sanctions from the United States and the European Union.
Over the past few months, U.S. President Trump has been encouraging Belarus to release hundreds of political prisoners. President Lukashenko, who has been in power for over 30 years, also pardoned dozens of people. In exchange, Washington had previously partially lifted sanctions on the Belarusian airline Belavia, allowing the company to maintain and purchase parts for its fleet, including Boeing aircraft.
Source: rfi
Original: toutiao.com/article/1851437307113479/
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