Banned Party Leader Freed as More Political Prisoners Released

(UnitedHeadlines.com) -On July 21, the leader of the banned Belarusian opposition party, the United Civic Party, was released after spending two years in prison.

Mikalai Kazlou spent two and half years in prison after he was convicted of organizing actions violating the public order related to protests about disputed results involving Alexander Lukashenko during the 2020 presidential election. Lukashenko has ruled Belarus for six terms.

Kazlou was one of many opposition figures who were arrested, including Lukashenko’s prime challenger in the election, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. A year after Kazlou’s arrest, the United Civic Party was banned by the Belarusian Supreme Court.

Earlier in July, Lukashenko announced an amnesty for some political prisoners who were seriously ill, including Kazlou and Ryhor Kastusiou, an opposition figure who has cancer. So far, 19 have been released. However, another 1,377 are still in prison, including the founder of the human rights group Viasna and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski. Those who remain in jail include doctors, human rights activists, journalists, public figures, scientists, and workers.

Fifty-eight Nobel prize winners, including Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich, Oscar Arias, J.M. Coetzee, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Herta Müller, Jody Williams, and over 40 winners in science and economics, signed a letter urging Lukashenko to free more political prisoners. In the letter, the Nobel prize winners said everyone has a “right to their opinion” adding that everyone “deserves respect for their individuality.”

Since the 2020 arrests, thousands of people have fled the country, and in May, Belarusian authorities conducted raids and seized property belonging to 104 opposition activists who fled the country.

According to Belarusian analysts, Lukashenko’s release of political prisoners who are sick could be an indication that he wants to improve relations with the West before seeking reelection next year. Lukashenko dropped the visa requirements for some of the European Union citizens arriving in the country by road and rail.