April 14, Pozirk. Opposition politician Mikałaj Statkievič says he has not yet received an official certificate of release, even though he has been free since February 19.
According to the interior ministry’s database, he is still listed as an inmate of Penal Colony No. 13 in Hłybokaje, Viciebsk region.
On April 13, Statkievič retrieved his passport from Detention Center No. 1 in Minsk.
“I am completely confused about my legal status and whereabouts,” he said. He added that he has also received a court order banning him from leaving the country.
Statkievič was among dozens of prisoners pardoned in September 2025 as part of Łukašenka’s deal with Washington. All of those released were taken to Lithuania, except Statkievič, who refused to leave Belarus and remained at a Belarusian-Lithuanian border crossing for several hours, as confirmed by CCTV footage.
In November 2025, the interior ministry informed his family that he had been returned to prison to continue serving his original 14-year sentence.
According to his wife, prison authorities stopped providing him with necessary medication, replacing it with ineffective alternatives during the final months of his imprisonment.
Statkievič was released in February 2026 after suffering a stroke in prison. He is now recovering at home.
