VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) \u2014 Belarus freed 52 political prisoners on Thursday, as the United States announced it was lifting sanctions on the isolated country\u2019s national airline.<\/p>\n
Belarus, a close ally of Russia, has been repeatedly slapped with Western sanctions<\/a> both for its authoritarian government\u2019s crackdown on human rights and its role in Moscow\u2019s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Its president, Alexander Lukashenko, has ruled the nation<\/a> of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades, and allowed the Kremlin to use Belarusian territory to send troops and weapons into Ukraine.<\/p>\n But for more than a year, Lukashenko has sought to mend ties with the West in the hopes of easing the sanctions and the country\u2019s international isolation. He has regularly released prisoners<\/a> as a way to win favor.<\/p>\n In June, Belarus freed Siarhei Tsikhanouski<\/a>, a key dissident figure and the husband of exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and 13 others following a visit by a senior envoy of U.S. President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n Shortly before the release became public on Thursday, Belarusian state media posted a video of U.S. envoy John Coale announcing that Washington had lifted sanctions on Belarus national air carrier, Belavia. The airline was sanctioned by the European Union, the U.S., and others after Belarusian flight controllers ordered a commercial jet traveling from Greece to Lithuania to land in Minsk. Once the plane landed, authorities arrested Raman Pratasevich<\/a>, a dissident journalist who was on board.<\/p>\n The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n The concession from the U.S. comes a day after Poland denounced<\/a> an incursion of Russian drones into its territory \u2014 some from Belarus \u2014 in what Western officials called an act of aggression. NATO jets were scrambled and shot some of the drones down. Russian and Belarusian troops have been gathering for war games<\/a> scheduled to start Friday.<\/p>\n Trump, whose country is the major military power in NATO, offered an ambiguous initial response to the incursions, posting, \u201cWhat\u2019s with Russia violating Poland\u2019s airspace with drones? Here we go!\u201d on his Truth Social platform.<\/p>\n Tsikhanouskaya, Belarus\u2019 opposition leader in exile, warned that lifting sanctions could create new leverage for both Minsk and Moscow, whose aviation industry has been heavily sanctioned. <\/p>\n \u201cWe understand that this is part of the deal,\u201d she told The Associated Press. \u201cBut lifting sanctions without systemic changes in the country could open loopholes that both the Lukashenko regime and Russia will use to circumvent the sanctions.\u201d<\/p>\n Among those released Thursday was Ihar Losik, a journalist for U.S. government-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty, according to human rights group Viasna. The 33-year-old was convicted of \u201corganizing mass riots, taking part in mass disorder, inciting social hatred,\u201d and several other charges that remain unclear, according to the broadcaster. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in December 2021.<\/p>\n Also among those freed were 14 foreigners \u2014 six Lithuanians, two Latvians, two Poles, two Germans, one French national and one U.K. national \u2014 according to the Belarusian presidency\u2019s press service. <\/p>\n Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the prisoners safely crossed into his country and left \u201cbehind barbed wire, barred windows and constant fear.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am deeply grateful to the United States and personally to President @realDonaldTrump for their continued efforts to free political prisoners. 52 is a lot. A great many. Yet more than 1,000 political prisoners still remain in Belarusian prisons and we cannot stop until they see freedom!\u201d Nauseda wrote on X.<\/p>\n Almost 1,200 political prisoners remain behind bars in Belarus, according to Viasna. <\/p>\n Lukashenko has relentlessly cracked down on the opposition and independent media<\/a>, especially after tens of thousands of people poured into the streets<\/a> to protest his reelection in August 2020, in a vote widely seen as rigged. They were the largest protests in the country\u2019s history. <\/p>\n In the ensuing crackdown, tens of thousands were detained, with many beaten by police. Prominent opposition figures either fled the country or were imprisoned. <\/p>\n