{"id":143659,"date":"2025-06-22T19:29:47","date_gmt":"2025-06-22T16:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/143659\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"cichanouski-denies-plans-to-replace-wife-as-opposition-leader","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/143659\/","title":{"rendered":"Cichano\u016dski denies plans to replace wife as opposition leader"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\n Siarhiej Cichano\u016dski, \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja at press conference in Vilnius, June 22, 2025\n <\/div>\n \n
\n (Pozirk)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

June 22, Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>Siarhiej Cichano\u016dski, released from prison yesterday after a visit by US diplomats to Minsk, has denied plans to replace his wife \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja as leader of the opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo you think that someone who spent five years in isolation and then got out can become a leader? We have 1,100 more leaders like that,\u201d he told journalists in Vilnius today, in an apparent reference to hundreds of people imprisoned in politically-motivated cases in Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s officials hoped that once free and abroad, he would destabilize the exiled pro-democracy forces, Cichano\u016dski said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do not plan to get involved in the activities of this [Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s] office. . . I will act as I see fit,\u201d the activist said, mentioning plans to share his experiences on YouTube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only solidarity, pressure and diplomatic efforts can help liberate jailed Belarusian regime critics, \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja noted, asking the opposition\u2019s democratic partners to be firm in demanding an end to reprisals in Belarus. \u201cWe welcome all diplomatic efforts and [appreciate] what the American administration is doing now,\u201d the politician added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is necessary to draw attention to Belarus’ humanitarian and political crisis and Minsk\u2019s role in Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine, she stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cichano\u016dski and 13 other prisoners, convicted on charges widely seen as politically motivated, were pardoned yesterday, with some immediately taken to Lithuania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police arrested presidential hopeful Siarhiej Cichano\u016dski two months before the 2020 election, as his sharp-edged campaign was gaining momentum and threatening to sweep \u0141uka\u0161enka from power. Later, he was given a lengthy prison term. He had been held incommunicado since March 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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