Belarus will release 25 prisoners under an interim agreement with the United States, in return for Washington lifting sanctions on two Belarusian companies, US President Donald Trump’s envoy John Coale said on Wednesday in Minsk.
Coale described the prisoner release as an act of goodwill and said the United States would remove Lakokraska, an industrial paints and coatings manufacturer, and Bellesbumprom, a state-owned forestry, pulp and paper company, from its sanctions list. The restrictions on the companies date from 2008 and 2023, respectively.
The envoy said the two governments would continue discussions aimed at resolving outstanding issues, securing the release of more prisoners and removing additional sanctions. He said the United States would also release tens of millions of dollars in Belarusian assets frozen in US banks.
Coale reportedly sought the release of 250 prisoners during a visit to Belarus last March. In a later post on X, he said Washington would continue working to improve relations with Minsk and secure the release of more people in the near future.
Hundreds of people remain imprisoned in Belarus following President Alexander Lukashenko’s crackdown on protests against his 2020 reelection, according to the supplied report. Western countries imposed sanctions on Belarus in response to what they described as repression of the opposition.
Human rights organization Viasna, which is banned in Belarus, says the government still holds more than 900 political prisoners. The detainees have been accused of offenses including extremism, conspiracy to seize power, incitement of hatred and insulting the president. During talks with Coale, Lukashenko denied that political prisoners exist and rejected Viasna’s claims.