The Japan Times - Freed Belarus opposition figure urges Trump to help release all prisoners

A tearful and emaciated Tikhanovsky spoke to reporters in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius a day after he was released from several years of prison with more than a dozen others.

"President Trump now has the power and opportunity to free all political prisoners in Belarus with a single word, and I ask him to do so, to say that word," Tikhanovsky said.

The eastern European country still holds more than 1,000 political prisoners in its jails, according to Belarusian human rights group Viasna.

Tikhanovsky said he hoped to return to Belarus "but when, I don't know yet".

"You have to understand, I spent more than five years alone in a solitary cell," he said.

"I was completely isolated. I have very little information and now I need to find out a lot of things."

Tikhanovsky was joined at the news conference by his wife Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who took the mantle of the opposition movement after he was jailed.

"The leader of the opposition is Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, my wife. And I am not going to challenge that," Tikhanovsky said.

- 'Incredibly emotional' -

The prisoner release on Saturday came just hours after US special envoy Keith Kellogg met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk, the highest-profile US visit in years.

Tikhanovsky, 46, had been imprisoned for more than five years.

The popular YouTuber had planned to run against Lukashenko in the August 2020 presidential election, but was arrested and detained weeks before the vote.

A charismatic activist, Tikhanovsky drew the ire of authorities for his campaign slogan, "Stop the cockroach", a reference to Lukashenko.

He was sentenced in 2021 to 18 years in prison for "organising riots" and "inciting hatred", then to another 18 months for "insubordination".

Tikhanovskaya -- a political novice at the time of her husband's arrest -- ran against Lukashenko in his place but lost after what the opposition described as widespread falsification. She later fled Belarus.

Lukashenko claimed a record seventh term in elections earlier this year that observers dismissed as a farce.

Tikhanovskaya, who has been living in exile in Lithuania, said Sunday "it was incredibly emotional for me to see finally my husband after long five years".

"He is alive and we together again and remain committed to our fight," she told reporters, before thanking Trump and his administration for their "tireless efforts".

- 'Difficult conditions' -

Lithuania shelters tens of thousands of Belarusians, many of whom moved there as Minsk clamped down on dissent in the 2020 presidential vote's aftermath.

The Baltic state is also a hub for some Russian opposition figures, including Leonid Volkov, an ally of the late Alexei Navalny.

Among the 13 others freed Saturday were Radio Liberty journalist Igor Karnei, arrested in 2023 and jailed for participating in an "extremist" organisation.

Lithuania said the released prisoners were now receiving "proper care" in the Baltic state.

Though none needed emergency medical assistance, "one of them needed emergency medical attention" as "they were imprisoned in difficult conditions", Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said.

"They should all be released immediately and unconditionally. Their place was never in prison," said the statement by rapporteurs of the group's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE).

Belarus, ruled by Lukashenko since 1994, has outlawed all genuine opposition parties. It is the only European country to retain the death penalty as a punishment.

Lukashenko's spokeswoman said the Belarusian leader had ordered the release of the prisoners on Trump's "request", Russian state media reported.

The US leader appeared to take credit, writing "Thank you President Trump!" on social media, alongside a link to a news story about the prisoner release.

H.Hayashi--JT