The head of the opposition of the Bélarus, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, released from prison, says the wife | New policies

The arrest and activism of Tsikhanouski have sparked unprecedented demonstrations in Bélarus, which questions Lukashenko’s rule.

Bélarus opposition chief Siarhei Tsikhanouski was released from prison after five years, said his wife Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya in an article on X.

Tsikhanouskaya, who took over the cause of the opposition after her husband’s imprisonment, shared a video on Saturday, smiling and kissing her after her release with legend: “free”.

“My husband Siarhei is free! It is difficult to describe joy in my heart,” she wrote on X, thanking US President Donald Trump, American envoy Kellogg and European allies.

“We have not finished. 1150 political prisoners remain behind bars. Everything must be released,” she added.

My husband Siarhei is free! It is difficult to describe joy in my heart.

Thank you, 🇺🇸 @Potus,, @Spe_kellogg,, @JohnpcoaleDas Christopher W. Smith, @Statetept & our allies 🇪🇺, for all your efforts.

We are not finished. 1150 Political prisoners remain behind bars. All must be released. pic.twitter.com/mhngqbhfq3

– Sviatlana tsikhanouskaaya (@tsihanouskaya) June 21, 2025

Tsikhanouski, 46, is now in the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, said a spokesperson for his wife. In total, 14 prisoners were released, added the spokesperson.

Local media reports indicated that the liberation intervened a few hours after the Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko met Trump’s Ukrainian envoy, Keith Kellogg, in Minsk.

Tsikhanouski had planned to appear against Lukashenko outing in the August 2020 presidential election. A charismatic activist, he invented a new insult for Lukashenko when he called him a “cockroach” and his country slogan was “stopping the cockroach”. His supporters agitated slippers, often used to kill insects during demonstrations.

But Tsikhanouski was arrested and detained weeks before the vote. His wife, Tsikhanouskaya – A political novice at the time of his arrest, took his place in the polls.

Tsikhanouski was convicted in 2021 At 18 years in prison to “organize riots” and “encourage hatred”, then to an additional 18 months for “insubordination”.

Bélarus, governed by Lukashenko since 1994, has prohibited all opposition movements and is the only European country to maintain the death penalty as a punishment.

There are more than 1,000 political prisoners in the country, according to the Belarusian group of human rights Viasna.