Some released Belarusian political prisoners refuse to leave the country

After meeting with the US President Donald Trumpʼs special representative John Cole, self-proclaimed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko released 52 political prisoners. Some of those released do not plan to leave Belarus.

This is reported by the Belarusian publications Euroradio and Belsat.

They refuse to be forced to leave Belarus:

• one of the opposition leaders and former presidential candidate of Belarus Mykola Statkevich;
• activist of the "European Belarus" movement Maksym Vinyarsky;
• philosopher and methodologist Volodymyr Matskevich;
• trade union activist Gennady Fedynych.

Belarusian politicians have noted that release from prison with subsequent expulsion from the country is deportation, which is a crime against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Although Belarus did not sign the Rome Statute, Lithuania, where they wanted to deport former political prisoners, joined it.

• During a visit to Minsk, John Cole said that the United States “very much wants to normalize relations with Belarus,” and he also noted that lifting sanctions on Belavia is just the beginning. The American official said that Trump supports the idea of returning the US embassy to Minsk.

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