Maria Kolesnikova, a leading figure of Belarus's 2020 protests, was unexpectedly released alongside 122 other detainees in a US-brokered deal and said she "has no regrets" about her actions. The agreement included Washington agreeing to ease some sanctions on Minsk; 114 of the freed were transferred to Ukraine. Former presidential hopeful Viktor Babariko, also released, warned that prisoners in Belarus have access only to state media and urged supporters not to forget some 1,200 political detainees still held, including his son Eduard.
Maria Kolesnikova Released in US-Brokered Deal Says She Has 'No Regrets'
Viktor Babariko and Maria Kolesnikava held a press conference (Tetiana DZHAFAROVA)(Tetiana DZHAFAROVA/AFP/AFP)
Maria Kolesnikova, a prominent leader of Belarus's 2020 protest movement, told reporters she has "no regrets" after being unexpectedly released in a deal brokered by the United States.
The 43-year-old was freed on Saturday alongside 122 other detainees after more than five years in prison for her opposition to President Alexander Lukashenko. Of the 123 people released, 114 were transferred to Ukraine.
Kolesnikova spoke at a news conference in Ukraine: "I don't regret anything. I believe there are times when we face difficult questions, and we must make difficult choices. I made this difficult choice very easily because I was and remain absolutely confident that I supported the right idea."
Other Releases and Reactions
Also freed was former banker Viktor Babariko, 62, who had planned to run against Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election before his arrest. Speaking at the same event, Babariko said detainees in Belarus had access only to state-controlled media and therefore lacked an impartial view of the war in Ukraine: "You only know what they show on Belarusian television. And they show almost nothing."
The releases followed an agreement in which Washington agreed to ease some economic sanctions on Minsk in exchange for the detainees' freedom. Kolesnikova publicly thanked the United States, Ukraine and, unexpectedly, President Lukashenko for her release.
How Kolesnikova Became a Symbol
Trained as a musician, Kolesnikova emerged as a leading figure in mass protests after Lukashenko's disputed 2020 re-election. In September 2020 she was seized by Belarusian security agents and taken to the Ukrainian border to be expelled. She tore up her passport at the border, making deportation legally impossible and turning her into a powerful symbol of resistance against Lukashenko, who has led Belarus since 1994.
Babariko said he had lost significant weight in prison and that his immediate priority was to recover his health. He also urged people not to forget the more than 1,200 political prisoners that rights group Viasna says remain jailed in Belarus, including his son, Eduard: "We must not forget those whose surnames we have never heard... That would be a great betrayal."
Numbers To Note: 123 detainees released, 114 transferred to Ukraine, and roughly 1,200 political prisoners reportedly remain in Belarus.
