Maximum Pressure on Lukashenka Remains Necessary

Lukashenka’s deceitful practice of forced deportations, presented as prisoner release, and continued arrests should not be tolerated. The United States must maintain maximum pressure on Lukashenka to end the system of political persecution and compel the unconditional release of all political prisoners. The United States must also necessitate the regime to disengage from Russia’s war in Ukraine and its aggression against NATO. The United States must tread carefully in any sanctions relief on the Lukashenka regime, ensuring that it does not undermine the pressure on Russia for its aggression against Ukraine and NATO countries.

On September 11, Belarusians worldwide welcomed 52 people, including 40 political prisoners, released from the Lukashenka regime’s penitentiary system. Their release became possible thanks to international pressure and the efforts and mediation of the Trump administration. Those who faced repression, isolation, and torture for exercising their fundamental human rights will now be able to rebuild their lives.

Belarusian-Americans are grateful to President Trump and the Trump administration for every person saved from the Lukashenka regime’s inhumane system of coercion and oppression. We thank the Belarusian Democratic movement and the international community for elevating the voices of each of the 4,246 political prisoners in Belarus, incarcerated since the onset of the crackdown on the peaceful 2020 protest against the fraudulent presidential election.

While the release of several small groups of political prisoners in 2025 is a significant event, it was not the end of political repressions or a policy change in Belarus. The Lukashenka regime has continued its crackdown, arresting hundreds more on politically motivated charges. Despite the release of 170 political prisoners in 2025, the population of political prisoners in Belarus had actually increased, reaching 1,241 in October.

Considering every political prisoner a threat to his power, Lukashenka chose to deport the released Belarusian citizens from Belarus to Lithuania and confiscate their passports, thus rendering them stateless. Many had only a few months left to serve their sentences before returning to their families, friends, and their professional careers. Instead, Lukashenka has lawlessly thrown them out of their country in prison uniforms and without any possessions. Deporting Belarusian citizens from Belarus and unlawfully depriving them of citizenship violates the Constitution of Belarus and international laws.

Mikalai Statkevich, the prominent opposition leader and political prisoner, has exposed the deceitful practices of the Lukashenka regime. On September 11, the day of the prisoners’ release, Mikalai Statkevich refused to be forcefully deported from Belarus to Lithuania, exercising his constitutional right to stay in Belarus, and was again detained by the Belarusian authorities. Since then, the whereabouts and state of health of a 69-year-old Mikalai Statkevich have been unknown. Maryna Adamovich, wife of Mikalai Statkevich, has not received any response to her official request regarding his whereabouts. UN experts have denounced the disappearance of Mikalai Statkevich after his attempted deportation.

In exchange for the prisoners’ release, the United States provided sanctions relief for the Belarusian air company, Belavia, which was sanctioned for its role in hijacking the international RyanAir flight to arrest an independent Belarusian journalist and for the regime’s involvement in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. This U.S. move poses a risk of enabling Russia to strengthen its war capabilities through access to spare aircraft parts, undermining a significant component of the sanctions regime against Russia and Belarus in exchange for only a marginal benefit.

Lukashenka’s deceitful practice of forced deportations, presented as prisoner release, and continued arrests should not be tolerated. The United States must maintain maximum pressure on Lukashenka to end the system of political persecution and compel the unconditional release of all political prisoners. The United States must also necessitate the regime to disengage from Russia’s war in Ukraine and its aggression against NATO. The United States must tread carefully in any sanctions relief on the Lukashenka regime, ensuring that it does not undermine the pressure on Russia for its aggression against Ukraine and NATO countries.

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