Belarus Frees Nobel Prize Winner, Key Opposition Figures in US-Brokered Deal

Lukashenko’s office said it welcomed the lifting of what it called ‘illegal’ Biden-era sanctions.

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya welcomes Ales Bialatski, prisoner released from Belarus, as he arrives at the U.S. embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Dec. 13, 2025. Ints Kalnins/Reuters

Belarus has freed 123 political prisoners in an unprecedented deal brokered by the United States.

The releases were carried out under “agreements reached with U.S. President Donald Trump and at his request,” Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s office said in a statement posted on its official Telegram channel on Dec. 13.