Belarus Frees Nobel Prize Laureate Bialiatski, Opposition Figure Kolesnikova as US Lifts Sanctions

Nobel Peace Prize 2022 laureate Ales Bialiatski tries on a new suit at a shopping center in Vilnius on December 14, 2025, a day after his release from prison. Belarus has freed 123 prisoners, including protest leaders Viktar Babaryka, Maria Kolesnikova, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, on December 13, 2025, after the US envoy earlier said Washington was lifting sanctions on Belarusian potassium. (Photo by Sergei GAPON / AFP via Getty Images)

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Belarusian authorities have released Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and key opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova from prison. Human rights advocate Pavel Sapelka confirmed the release to the AP. This move comes as President Alexander Lukashenko seeks to improve relations with Washington. On Saturday, the U.S. announced it was lifting sanctions on Belarus’s potash sector. In exchange, Lukashenko pardoned 123 prisoners. Belarus has faced Western isolation and sanctions for years due to its human rights record and support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. envoy described recent talks with Lukashenko as “very productive.”