{"id":143611,"date":"2025-06-21T22:51:04","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T19:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/143611\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"eu-leaders-welcome-pardon-of-14-prisoners-urge-release-of-all","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/143611\/","title":{"rendered":"EU leaders welcome pardon of 14 prisoners, urge release of all"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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June 21, <\/strong>Pozirk.<\/strong> <\/em>Europe continues to call for the immediate release of all Belarusian political prisoners, Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, has commented on the pardon to 14 Belarusian prisoners today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siarhiej Cichano\u016dski, a prominent opposition figure and husband of the opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja, was freed today along with 13 others after Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump\u2019s special envoy for Ukraine, met with Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka in Minsk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Von der Leyen described their release as \u201ca powerful symbol of hope for all the political prisoners suffering under the brutal [Alaksandar] \u0141uka\u0161enka regime\u201d in her X post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaja Kallas, the European Union\u2019s foreign affairs chief, said the release of prisoners marked \u201ca positive step after prolonged injustice.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI welcome the US engagement that made this possible and share the joy of families reunited. But all political prisoners in Belarus must be freed,\u201d she stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweden\u2019s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson welcomed the release of Cichano\u016dski and Swedish national Halina Kra\u015bnianskaja, noting the importance of US engagement in the region. \u201cThe pressure on Belarus must continue until all political prisoners are free,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 1,180 people, whom rights groups consider political prisoners, remain behind bars in Belarus as the crackdown on regime critics continues since the 2020 political crisis. The real number may be considerably higher because many cases go undocumented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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