Twenty-Five Political Prisoners Released, Deported from Belarus

Click to expand Image TOR BAND musicians, former political prisoners, embrace their loved ones after arriving in Vilnius on September 16, 2026. © 2026 Human Rights Watch This week 25 former political prisoners arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania having been released from detention in Belarus. Their release was negotiated by the United States special envoy to Belarus John Coale with president Aliaksander Lukashenka. In exchange, the US lifted sanctions on two Belarusian companies. Among those released