Belarusian authorities have released 25 political prisoners as part of a deal with the United States. Full list published

US Presidential Special Envoy for Belarus John Cole said that Minsk and Washington had reached an “interim agreement”: in exchange for the release of prisoners, the United States would lift sanctions against the paint and varnish manufacturer Lakokraska and the state concern Bellesbumprom.

Among those released are the former general director of the independent portal TUT.BY Lyudmila Chekina, sentenced to 12 years in prison; journalist and media manager Andrei Aleksandrov, who was serving a 14-year sentence, and his wife Irina Zlobina, sentenced to nine years. Also released were cultural manager Pavel Belous, political scientist Tatyana Kuzina, activist Yana Pinchuk, lawyer Anastasia Lazarenko and former investigator Yevgeny Yushkevich.

Also released: Pavel Petruchenya, Elena Lazarchik, Dmitry Novozhilov, Dmitry Golovach, Svetlana Yakubovich, Andrey Tsalyuk, Evgeny Burlo, Ales Chumakov, Kirill Poznyak, Andrey Yaremchik, Olga Stroeva, Denis Salmanovich, Dmitry Kolos, Ilya Veremeev, Sergey Ryabtsev, Kirill Gnezdilov and Yanina Poznyak.

However, the current group may not be the only one. A Reuters source familiar with the negotiations said that in addition to the 25 taken to Lithuania, a significant number of other prisoners are expected to be released and will remain in Belarus. The Viasna Human Rights Center also reported that the relatives of some prisoners on the morning of September 16 were asked to come to the colony and pick them up. The names of this additional group have not yet been fully published.

This is not the first such agreement between Minsk and Washington. In March, after negotiations with Cole, Belarus released 250 prisoners, after which the United States lifted sanctions on a number of Belarusian financial institutions and enterprises. Cole said negotiations will continue and Washington expects to secure more exemptions “in the very near future.”

According to the human rights center “Viasna”, after today’s release, 886 people remain political prisoners in Belarus. Alexander Lukashenko claims that there are no political prisoners in the country and that those convicted were prosecuted for breaking the law.