Belarus released two Lithuanian citizens who had been illegally detained in Belarus since 2024, Lithuania's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
"Lithuanian citizens who had been imprisoned in Belarus for more than a year on trumped-up charges are now safe and receiving medical and other necessary assistance," Lithuania's Foreign Ministry said.
"Once again, I would like to urge Lithuanian citizens not to travel to Belarus. It is dangerous," Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said in the statement, adding that “the likelihood of ending up in prison for no reason is very high”.
The independent Belarusian news website Nasha Niva reported that the political prisoners released on Saturday also included Marija Batalionok, a Lithuanian citizen of Belarusian origin.
According to the ministry, released citizens of other countries are being cared for by the embassies of those countries and the office of Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
The Minsk regime released 123 political prisoners on Saturday. Almost all exited Belarus via Ukraine and some via Lithuania.
Among those released were Belarusian opposition figure and presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka, opposition representative Maria Kalesnikava, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, Belarusian opposition figure Maksim Znak, and writer and social activist Pavel Seviarynets.
Following negotiations between the US and Belarus, more than 60 prisoners were released from Belarusian prisons in June and September, including six Lithuanian citizens.
In return, the US agreed to ease sanctions on Belarusian fertiliser exports, which is one of the main sources of revenue for the regime of Alexander Lukashenko.
Lithuania’s officials said on Monday that this will have no effect on the country, as fertiliser exports are still banned under EU sanctions. The Minsk regime previously exported much of its potash fertiliser via Lithuania’s port of Klaipėda.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene have welcome the release of political prisoners in Belarus.
Lithuanian president, PM welcome release of prisoners
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said he welcomed the release of prisoners, writing on X on Saturday that “they have shown remarkable courage”.
“I wish them strength as they reunite with their families. Lithuania stands with them and all who strive for freedom," Nausėda said.
For her part, Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė thanked the United States.
"The prime minister congratulates President Donald Trump and his administration and is delighted that their efforts have succeeded in freeing Lithuanian citizens imprisoned by the Belarusian regime – political prisoners, as well as citizens of other countries. We will continue to actively urge the Belarusian regime to release all political prisoners," the prime minister's spokesman Ignas Dobrovolskas told BNS.
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