Belarus Opposition Leader Highlights the Complex Dynamics of Political Prisoners

Exiled Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya criticized President Lukashenko for treating political prisoners as bargaining chips. She emphasized the need for the US to balance incentives and pressure in negotiations. Meanwhile, Lukashenko denies the existence of political prisoners, insisting they are guilty of serious crimes.

Exiled Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has accused President Alexander Lukashenko of using political prisoners as leverage, urging the U.S. to strategically combine both incentives and pressure in ongoing negotiations with the long-standing authoritarian regime.

President Donald Trump, having tasked his special envoy to Belarus, John Coale, to secure the release of political prisoners, has seen mixed results. Although Coale successfully negotiated the liberation of 51 prisoners in September, the Belarusian human rights group Viasna has since identified an additional 157 political detainees.

Tsikhanouskaya, in a Reuters interview, criticized Lukashenko's strategy of employing detainees as bargaining tools. She emphasized the necessity of stopping state repressions completely, despite Lukashenko's denial of their existence and his insistence that those imprisoned have committed serious offenses.

(With inputs from agencies.)