Relatives of Belarusian political prisoners complain that East-West exchange did not free their loved ones

TALLINN – A wave of disappointment swept through opposition activists in Belarus last week as the largest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War took place and they learned that it did not include any of the hundreds of political detainees locked up for years by its authoritarian leader.

The dismay is particularly poignant as Friday marks the fourth anniversary of the 2020 election — widely viewed at home and abroad as fraudulent — that gave President Alexander Lukashenko his sixth term in office. The disputed vote sparked the largest protests and crackdown on dissent in Belarus in its post-Soviet history.

According to the human rights organization Viasna, there are about 1,400 political prisoners in the country, including its founder and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski. Like many opposition figures, Bialiatski is being held incommunicado.

“I am happy to see the Russians released, but I am shocked that no one remembers the fate of Belarusian political prisoners,” Natalia Pinchuk, Bialiatski’s wife, told The Associated Press. “I hope that this was just the first round of the game involving the West, and that Belarusians will also be released after the representatives of Russia.”

The only prisoner released in Belarus in the August 1 swap was Rico Krieger, a German medical worker arrested in that country last year on terrorism charges. He is among 16 Western prisoners and Russian dissidents exchanged for eight Russians held abroad.

Viasna has raised the issue with Western diplomats, listing more than 30 political prisoners who should be released as a priority, according to the group’s representative, Pavel Sapelka.

He said some Western countries had held confidential talks with Lukashenko’s government, although he did not provide details.

The wait is excruciating for Pinchuk, who only receives occasional messages that Bialiatski is alive. She says his health has “deteriorated significantly,” he is denied medication, and he has been repeatedly placed in solitary confinement as part of his 10-year prison sentence for funding the 2020 protests.

At least six political prisoners have died in custody.

Western governments are aware of the harsh conditions in which her husband and others are being held, “but I am not aware that Belarusian names were mentioned in the exchange,” Pinchuk said.

Tatsiana Khomich, the sister of imprisoned opposition activist Maria Kolesnikova, had hoped to see her freed in the exchange.

“There was obviously a window of opportunity to free the Belarusians, because Minsk was involved in the project and took part in negotiations with Berlin regarding Krieger,” Khomich told AP. “But Western politicians were unable or unwilling to use this window.”

With her short hair and bright smile, Kolesnikova was known for appearing at the Minsk protests and making a heart shape with her hands. She was arrested in September 2020 after tearing up her passport at the border when authorities tried to deport her.

Khomich said she had not heard from her sister in a year and a half. Kolesnikova, 42, who is serving an 11-year sentence in a particularly harsh prison, has undergone surgery and is seriously ill, her weight having dropped to about 45 kilograms (99 pounds), her sister said.

“It has become clear that neither Belarus nor Belarusian prisoners are a priority for Western partners,” Khomich said. “And this is a very alarming signal for us.”

US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said Washington “remains deeply concerned” by Lukashenko’s crackdown.

“We will continue to support the Belarusian people in their struggle for their democratic future, human rights and freedom of expression,” he said.

Kolesnikova was accused of helping to organize the months-long mass protests around the August 9, 2020, elections. More than 35,000 people were arrested and thousands more were beaten. Many opposition figures were sentenced to long prison terms, while others fled abroad.

Among those forced to leave was exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who said she admired Kolesnikova’s courage.

“We have not won yet, but we have not been defeated, because people have not given up,” Tsikhanouskaya told AP. “Many Belarusians continue to resist, thousands of people are paying the price of freedom in prisons. It became clear in 2020 that Lukashenko has lost the support of the majority of Belarusians.”

Tsikhanovskaya’s husband, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, was arrested after challenging Lukashenko in the elections. She ran in his place but was forced to flee the country. Tsikhanouski was sentenced to 19 and a half years in prison.

Tsikhanouskaya, who is lobbying Western leaders against Lukashenko, also expressed disappointment that no Belarusians were released in the swap.

“Lukashenko is afraid to release political prisoners; he is holding them hostage,” she said. “He probably feels insecure and is afraid to show his weakness. He may be afraid that releasing political prisoners will encourage Belarusians to fight.”

But she does not give up her efforts for their freedom.

“Together with our Western partners, including the United States, Germany and Poland, we are looking for mechanisms to free them,” she said. “But the pressure on the Belarusian leader may not have been enough to make him budge. The repression is only intensifying.”

Tsikhanouskaya said the Kremlin had helped Lukashenko survive the protests and is now “repaying that support by ensuring the country’s sovereignty.”

Lukashenko, who this year celebrated three decades in power, allowed Russian troops to use Belarusian territory to invade Ukraine in 2022 and let Moscow deploy some tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

Pavel Latushka, a former Belarusian culture minister and now an exiled opposition activist, told AP he wrote to German lawmakers to talk about human rights problems in Belarus. He was convicted in absentia of various anti-government charges by a Minsk court.

Lukashenko, he said, was only fulfilling the wishes of Russian President Vladimir Putin by releasing Krieger in the exchange.

“We cannot communicate with Putin,” Latushka said. “The only channel of communication we have is through representatives of Germany and other Western governments, who are well informed about the terrible condition of political prisoners in Belarus.”

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said efforts were continuing to free Belarusian political prisoners, including journalist Andrzej Poczobut, a member of the country’s large Polish minority.

But Belarus demanded Latushka’s extradition in exchange for Poczobut’s release, former Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kamiński said.

According to Viasna’s Sapelka, more than 50,000 Belarusians have been victims of political repression over the past four years.

In July, Belarusian authorities released 19 seriously ill political prisoners, including opposition leader Ryhor Kastusiou, who was suffering from cancer. But Sapelka noted that authorities “arrested three times as many activists to fill prison cells.”

“The repression in Belarus is only intensifying, the number of police raids and arrests is increasing,” he said. “Belarusians are in dire need of the support and solidarity of Western countries, not only in words but also in deeds.”

Now that Lukashenko is running for re-election next year, analysts do not expect him to release any more prisoners in the near future.

“Lukashenko has failed to overcome his fear and get rid of the trauma of 2020. So next year’s presidential election will take place in a tough repressive environment, with a crackdown on any activism and overcrowded prisons,” said Valery Karbalevich, an independent analyst. “Lukashenko will use political prisoners only to negotiate with the West and only to the extent that the Kremlin allows it.”

He said the fact that Belarusian political prisoners were not included in the latest exchange shows that the issue is not considered a priority by the West.

“It is obvious that Belarus has begun to disappear from the Western agenda after a four-year journey from the front pages of international media to a sadly diminishing interest in the fate of thousands of Belarusian political prisoners,” Mr. Karbalevich said.

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AP journalists Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Poland, and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report.