Minsk [Belarus], June 22: The husband of Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has been unexpectedly released from prison in Belarus, along with 13 other political prisoners.
Sergei Tikhanovsky - an opposition activist himself - has been moved to Lithuania and reunited with his wife, who is living in exile in the capital Vilnius, after five years in prison.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya announced her husband's release by posting a 10-second video of their first hug since 2020. She said it was "hard to describe" the joy in her heart.
The sudden release came as US special envoy Keith Kellogg visited Minsk, Belarus' capital, on Saturday and held a meeting with the country's authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko.
In a statement on X, the Lithuanian foreign minister said 14 political prisoners were released and are receiving care in Lithuania.
According to Tikhanovskaya's office, five were Belarusian nationals, and some were Japanese, Polish, and Swedish citizens.
However, Tikhanovsky's release is by far the most prominent.
A colourful, outspoken figure who once had a big following in Belarus on social media, he used to call on people to "stop the cockroach", referring to Lukashenko.
Ignoring the risks from a repressive regime, the video blogger and activist would tour the country to meet people in town squares and villages to hear - and broadcast - their concerns.
In 2020, he was arrested as he began his campaign to challenge Lukashenko for the presidency in that summer's elections.
He was jailed for 18 years in 2021 after a court convicted him of rallying mass protests against Lukashenko, among other charges.
His wife, Tikhanovskaya - a political novice and total unknown - stepped in to run for election in his place.
And when Lukashenko declared another landslide win, her supporters flooded the streets in the biggest protests Belarus has ever known.
They were crushed ruthlessly, and Tikhanovskaya was forced into exile.
Maria Kolesnikova, another well-known opposition leader who was jailed after the mass protests of 2020, is still in prison, her sister confirmed.
"No, not this time," she wrote to the BBC when asked whether Maria was among those set free.
"Though it's a huge progress. We need more releases and for that - more efforts and negotiations."
In the video posted by Tikhanovskaya on Saturday, Tikhanovsky is smiling broadly but has lost so much weight that he is hard to recognise.
Well-built, even stocky before his arrest, he is now thin.
In the video, the jacket he is wearing hangs loosely and his head has been shaved.
Franak Viacorka, senior adviser to Tikhanovskaya, described this as a "big day" and a very unexpected step.
"We didn't expect his release, we were struggling - fighting - for his release, but it was a full surprise," he told the BBC from Lithuania.
"We put his name on all the lists but we didn't believe it was possible."
He said that Tikhanovsky was "the same Sergei" he was before he was jailed.
"I felt the same energy, the same passion, though he was looking very thin," he added.
Tikhanovskaya wrote on X "my husband is free" before thanking US President Donald Trump, Kellogg and "all European allies" for their efforts to get her husband released.
"We're not done - 1,150 political prisoners remain behind bars," she added. "All must be released."
Viacorka said that as far as his team knows, nothing was offered to Belarus in return for Tikhanovsky's release.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation
