The unexpected release of Siarhei Tsikhanouski – one of Belarus’s leading activists and the husband of opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya – alongside 13 other prisoners, is a promising development. It reminds us that we must not lose determination in fighting for the rights of those who pay a high price for speaking out in support of democratic change in Belarus.
While we are thrilled to see 14 unjustly imprisoned individuals freed and given a chance to reunite with their families, the overall situation of political prisoners in the country remains dire. ARTICLE 19 once again reiterates that all of them must be unconditionally released.
Popular blogger and prominent activist Siarhei Tsikhanouski was released on 21 June after spending five years in prison. He was freed alongside 13 other people who, according to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office, are Belarusian, Japanese, Polish and Swedish citizens. They all are currently receiving care in Lithuania. Tsikhanouski has since reunited with his wife and children in Vilnius. His first public appearances revealed significant physical changes – most notably, considerable weight loss – underscoring the harrowing treatment of those imprisoned under the Lukashenko regime.
Head of Programmes and Strategy for Europe Joanna Szymańska said:
We welcome the recent release of 14 political prisoners, including Siarhei Tsikhanouski, who spent more than 700 days incommunicado, and whose unjust detention has come to symbolise the regime’s ruthless repression. However, over a thousand people remain behind bars for exercising their fundamental rights. The testimonies and physical condition of those recently freed starkly reveal the inhumane and degrading conditions endured by political prisoners in Belarusian detention facilities.
In interviews with international media, Tsikhanouski confirmed the inhumane conditions in Belarusian penal colonies. He described being tortured, receiving threats that he would ‘die in prison,’ and having only sporadic access to basic necessities like toothpaste or soap. His time in solitary confinement was so severe that he said he nearly forgot how to speak.
Siarhei Tsikhanouski was sentenced to 19 years and 6 months in prison on fabricated, politically motivated charges. His arrest came shortly after he announced his plan to run for president in the 2020 elections, challenging Aleksandr Lukashenko.
Following his detention, his wife, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, stepped in to run for the office, quickly rallying widespread support across the country. The fraudulent 2020 elections sparked the largest nationwide protests in Belarus’s history and triggered an unprecedented wave of repression against independent media, civil society, activists, and all forms of dissent.
The period since the 2020 elections has been incredibly challenging for Belarusians. Many have seen their friends, colleagues – or themselves – imprisoned, independent media blocked, and civil rights organisations forcibly liquidated and forced into exile. Yet, this time has also revealed the remarkable resilience and strength of the Belarusian people, who continue to resist repression and work hard to keep the fight for human rights and democracy alive.
As the international community, we have a duty to support them – to keep Belarus high on the European and global agenda, to demand decisive action against the Lukashenko regime, and, above all, to continue calling for the unconditional release of all political prisoners. We won’t stop until this becomes reality.