Jailed Belarusian opposition figure freed after five years
Sergei Tikhanovsky, the husband of Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, has been released from prison after five years along with 13 other political prisoners, the NGO Viasna announced on Saturday.
The 46-year-old activist was arrested in May 2020 shortly before a presidential election marked by historic opposition protests, followed by a wave of repression led by president Alexander Lukashenko's government.
Tikhanovskaya thanked US president Donald Trump and his European partners for securing her husband’s release. “My husband Siarhei is free! It’s hard to describe the joy in my heart,” she wrote on X, adding: “We're not done. 1150 political prisoners remain behind bars. All must be released.”
US envoy Keith Kellogg, a longtime advisor to Trump, travelled to Belarus earlier this week for talks with Lukashenko.
European Parliament president Roberta Metsola posted in response to the release: “Wonderful news Extremely happy for my friend @Tsihanouskaya! Our fight for all political prisoners in Belarus to be free will not stop here.”
Tikhanovsky ran a popular YouTube channel and wanted to challenge Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, in the presidential election. After his imprisonment, his wife took up his cause and mobilised crowds during her election campaign.
"I admire @Tsihanouskaya as a citizen and as a woman. She never stopped fighting. She defends human rights"
Lukashenko won the election, officially with 80 per cent of the vote. Tens of thousands of people protested for weeks against his re-election. The authorities crushed the movement with thousands of arrests, torture in detention and hundreds of heavy prison sentences.
18-year sentence
Tikhanovskaya was herself forced into exile in Lithuania under pressure from the authorities. Her husband was sentenced in 2021 to 18 years in prison for “organising riots” and “inciting hatred”, then to an additional 18 months for “insubordination”. He was held in very strict conditions, with very little contact with the outside world.
In March 2024, Tikhanovskaya said she had not heard from her husband for more than a year.
N-VA MEP Assita Kanko posted on X: "I admire @Tsihanouskaya as a citizen and as a woman. She never stopped fighting. She defends human rights. Not only for her husband, but for everyone who is currently being tortured by the cruel regime in Belarus. From the EU, we will continue to support their fight for freedom."
Handout photograph from video published on the Telegram channel of Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya shows the release of her husband Sergei Tikhanovsky at an unnamed location in Lithuania, 21 June 2025 © PHOTO HANDOUT / AFP
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