Belarus frees prisoners who say their passports were seized after release in a 'dirty trick'

Belarus freed 123 prisoners on Dec. 13 in an exchange with the United States that lifted some sanctions but left many ex-detainees without passports or other identity papers. Officials moved most of the freed prisoners to neighboring Ukraine, with a smaller group taken to Lithuania, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski. Uladzimir Labkovich, a prominent human rights advocate, said he was released from a Belarusian prison blindfolded and driven away with nothing but a paper bearing his name and a mugshot, not a passport or other identity documents. He described the moment as the latest in a pattern of state intimidation after years of abuse in custody.

At least 18 of the freed detainees traveled to Ukraine without any documents, according to rights groups. In addition to Labkovich, Belarusian opposition figures Vitkar Babaryka and Maria Kolesnikova were among those moved abroad without passports. Germany has pledged to shelter Babaryka and Kolesnikova. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who led the opposition from exile since 2020, called the transfers forced deportations that violated international norms and humiliated those who hoped to return home. Earlier in September, Lukashenko pardoned more than 50 political prisoners who were taken to the Lithuanian border; Mikola Statkevich refused to leave Belarus and remained in no-man’s land for hours before being returned to prison. Some of the freed in September, including fourteen who crossed into Lithuania, did not have passports. Freed activist Mikalai Dziadok said security operatives tore up his passport in front of him, while jailed journalist Ihar Losik said authorities confiscated his documents, notebooks and verdict.

UN rights expert Nils Muižnieks described the events as forced exile rather than pardons, saying those freed expected to return to families but were left without means to support themselves. Activists caution that a broader pattern persists: a revolving door of releases and re-arrests as authorities seek to influence the behavior and statements of those who remain inside and abroad. Since the Dec. 13 transfer, Viasna has counted seven more people as political prisoners and 176 since September. Donor groups have raised funds to help the released prisoners, and Tsikhanouskaya has appealed to Western governments for assistance in legalization and settlement. Amnesty International warned that, even with pardons, many people remain in prison or abroad without realistic paths to restoration of rights. The crackdown continues as Belarus tallies one of the world’s highest per-capita numbers of political prisoners.