109 released Belarusian political prisoners, whom Ukraine received, have already been sent to Poland and Lithuania. The Coordination Headquarters announced this on Facebook.
Warsaw became the first destination for Belarusians – they were taken to the Polish capital with the Coordination Headquarters’ help. From there, some of the released were sent to Lithuania.
“The Coordination Headquarters expresses sincere gratitude to the United States of America, the governments of European states, international partners, and all involved parties for their support, solidarity, and assistance in carrying out this humanitarian operation”
– Coordination Headquarters
Relocation and Departure of Belarusian Political Prisoners to Poland
Earlier it became known that Belarusian political prisoners left Ukraine for Poland. Among those who left:
Maria Kolesnikova – protest leader
Viktor Babaryko – former presidential candidate
Marina Zolotova – former chief editor of the TUT.BY portal
Maxim Znak – lawyer for Babaryka’s team
Pavlo Severynets – co-chair of the party “Belarusian Christian Democracy”
On December 13, following negotiations with John Cole, Donald Trump’s special envoy, in exchange for Washington’s lifting of sanctions imposed against the Belarusian potash industry, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 123 political prisoners. All of these people are citizens of the United Kingdom, the United States, Lithuania, Ukraine, Latvia, Australia, and Japan and were convicted of “crimes of varying kinds.” This refers to “spying, terrorist, and extremist activities”.
On the same day, 114 released civilians, including Ukrainians, arrived in Ukraine.