Belarus - December 2025

Belarus freed 123 political prisoners on 13 December, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, opposition politician Maria Kolesnikova, and former presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka. The prisoners were reportedly released in exchange for the removal of United States sanctions on Belarusian potash exports. While political prisoners have been released before in small groups, this release is the largest in the country since the 2020 Belarusian election prompted the ongoing crackdown in the country. Many of the prisoners were immediately deported to Ukraine or Lithuania. According to Viasna Human Rights Center, 1,128 political prisoners remain in the country.

Sources: Viasna, British Broadcasting Corporation