Belarus on Thursday, September 11th freed 52 political prisoners, including journalists, dissidents, and an EU staff member, in the largest mass release of detainees since President Alexander Lukashenko’s disputed re-election in 2020.
The move, brokered by Washington, marks an important step towards rapprochement between Minsk and the United States, despite deep scepticism in Europe.
The release follows direct engagement by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has made a point of dealing personally with authoritarian leaders long treated as pariahs by the West.
Trump’s envoy, John Coale, travelled to Minsk to deliver a letter from the president that included birthday wishes for Lukashenko, and to announce a limited easing of sanctions on the country’s national airline, Belavia. It will allow the state carrier to service and buy components for its existing fleet, which includes Boeing aircraft.
Coale also told Lukashenko that Washington wanted to reopen its embassy in Minsk.
Since July 2024, the Belarusian leader has freed more than 300 political prisoners as a way to win favor. In June of this year, fourteen political prisoners were released, including Sergei Tikhanovsky, the husband of exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.
Rights groups estimate that more than 1,000 political prisoners remain behind bars in Belarus, many of them jailed during a sweeping crackdown after Lukashenko claimed a sixth term in the contested 2020 presidential vote.
Trump has urged Lukashenko to free all detainees, describing them as “hostages”. After their latest call last month, he hinted at a potential face-to-face meeting with the Belarusian leader.
Lukashenko, who has ruled for over three decades and allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, said he was willing to pursue what he called a “big deal” with Washington.
Minsk remains heavily reliant on Moscow for loans and energy, yet increasingly appears to be testing a degree of independence.
The prisoner release took place a day after Poland said it shot down Russian drones, and on the eve of joint military exercises involving Russia and Belarus, highlighting the tensions along NATO’s eastern flank.
Trump’s outreach to Minsk is part of a broader strategy of engagement with leaders across geopolitical divides. In recent months, he has held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska in a bid to halt the war in Ukraine, and brokered a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan to end their long-running border conflict.
For Lukashenko, Western contact offers the chance to ease crippling sanctions that were imposed upon Belarus for its crackdown on human rights and allowing Moscow to use its territory in the invasion of Ukraine.
For Trump, it reflects his willingness to test unconventional diplomacy by engaging even the most isolated leaders.
“I see very few negatives in this agreement,” Yan Auseyushkin, a Warsaw-based analyst told The New York Times. “What is important is the mobility of Belarusians, that they maintain contact with the West and have an alternative to Russia. And if this continues, many people will be freed.”
Whether Thursday’s gesture marks a genuine turn by Lukashenko or simply a tactical move to win concessions remains uncertain.
