TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The leader of an outlawed Belarusian opposition party was freed Monday after two years in prison, respected human rights group Viasna reported, as the authoritarian country slowly releases political prisoners.
Mikalai Kazlou, head of the United Civic Party, was serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence for organizing subversive activities. His arrest came amid a severe crackdown on the opposition as mass demonstrations began to sweep the country. The demonstrations came after the 2020 presidential election, the results of which were disputed and saw Alexander Lukashenko win a sixth term in office.
The crackdown has led to the jailing of many prominent opposition leaders and forced others to flee the country, including Lukashenko’s main election challenger, Sviatlana Tikhanovskaya.
The Belarusian Supreme Court banned the United Citizens Party a year after Kazlu’s arrest.
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Lukashenko announced an amnesty for some seriously ill political prisoners in early July, and 19 have been released so far, but according to Viasna, 1,377 people remain incarcerated, including the group’s founder, Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialyacki.
Activists allege that authorities are creating torture-like conditions in prisons and depriving political prisoners of medical care, transportation, and access to lawyers and relatives.
Belarus analysts say Lukashenko’s release of sick political prisoners suggests he may be trying to improve ties with the West ahead of his re-election next year, and he also recently lifted visa requirements for European Union citizens entering the country by rail and overland.
