Maria Kolesnikova, a leader of the protest movement in Belarus, has been released from prison after serving a five-year sentence, according to reports from state media and non-governmental organizations. Kolesnikova was freed along with 122 other prisoners as part of a pardon granted by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in exchange for the lifting of U.S. sanctions. According to additional reports, authorities also released Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, a Belarusian human rights activist considered a prisoner of conscience. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that five Ukrainian citizens were among those released. Zelenskyy thanked the United States: "Thanks to their active role and cooperation with our intelligence organizations, about 100 people, five of them Ukrainian citizens, were released."
Comments
The commenter agrees to the privacy policy of Ynet News and agrees not to submit comments that violate the terms of use, including incitement, libel and expressions that exceed the accepted norms of freedom of speech.