Latest news with #SergeiTikhanovsky
BBC News
30-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Belarus: After five years in jail, opposition figure Tikhanovsky speaks out
Sergei Tikhanovsky has barely spoken for more than five that time he was held in solitary confinement in a high security Belarusian prison for daring to stand up to a the former opposition blogger is free, and words stream out of him so quickly that his thoughts sometimes struggle to keep up."The restriction on speaking was the hardest thing," Sergei confided when we met in Vilnius very soon after his surprise release."When you can't say or write anything, you can't talk to anyone and you're just trapped in a cell – that's the toughest thing – not the restriction on movement."Sergei is now in enforced exile, freed along with 13 other political prisoners after a senior US delegation paid a rare visit to the authoritarian ruler of Belarus, Alexander I ask about the reunion with his family, Sergei lifts a hand to his face and daughter was only four when he was arrested."She didn't recognise me," he manages eventually, after a long pause. "Then she threw herself into my arms and we hugged for a long time."Sergei's transformation since his arrest is in 2020 he was stocky and bearded. Now the face beneath his close-shaven head is gaunt. He says he's lost almost 60kg (132 pounds) in jail, where he spent endless weeks in punishment cells."Physically I'm half the size and half the weight," Sergei says. "But my spirit is not broken. Maybe it's even stronger.""Before I'd only heard of the crimes of this regime, but now I've seen them first-hand and we have to fight that."Until last week, Sergei Tikhanovsky was one of the most prominent political prisoners in of the 2020 presidential election he developed a big YouTube following by filming candid interviews about people's complaints and he tried to register to run himself, waving a giant slipper and calling on Belarusians to "Stop the Cockroach!"."I was using the chance to show that it's impossible to win democratically in Belarus," Sergei explains. "I wanted to show that the elections are fake, and they arrested me."When his wife, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, went on to run in his place she attracted huge crowds. After Lukashenko claimed another implausible victory, those crowds became a mass protest which soon became mass arrests. In prison, Sergei was constantly singled out for ill treatment like the other high-profile figures – "the ones they think are most dangerous, or who they want to destroy", as he puts it."For the last two-and-a-half years I was in total isolation. I didn't get a single letter in almost three years. For almost three years they didn't let me have any phone calls," he wasn't even allowed to see a priest."They'd say: you will die in prison. We are going to keep extending your time and you won't get out."To make matters worse, Sergei was frequently sent to a punishment cell - for a mark on the wall or a stray cobweb."Those cells could be three-by-two metres, including a hole in the floor for a toilet," he recalls. "No mattress, no sheet and no pillows."He would get up every hour through the night to keep warm with sets of squats and sit-ups, then lie on the wooden bunk until his arms and legs seized up, and he had to start the exercises all over cope, he had to empty his brain of all thoughts of family and friends."You have to put that to one side," he says. "Because if you think about how they are and what's happening to them, you won't survive."It was last August when Sergei started to think he might be getting when the deputy prosecutor began touring prisons and "seriously recommending" that political detainees "write to the dictator and request his pardon" as Sergei puts was suddenly keen on looking merciful and several dozen were and the other big names, like Viktor Babaryka and Maria Kolesnikova, were never on any he never entertained the idea of confessing, even to get back to his children."I am no criminal," he explains. "So that would be a betrayal of all who support me."Then last week the United States stepped special envoy Keith Kellogg travelled to Minsk to intercede for American citizens in prison, he emerged with Sergei, Lukashenko, the meeting with Kellogg was a big win has been ostracised by Western countries since he suppressed the peaceful protests in active support for Russia in invading Ukraine has isolated him still further."Now Lukashenko could show some co-operation was starting, a dialogue with the US," Sergei says, explaining what Lukashenko got for freeing some prisoners."That was the price: the start of contact with him. Because no-one had been engaging." Sergei wants nothing more than for all the other political prisoners to be released, too. There are more than 1,000 in tears, he describes meeting an "old man" recently who turned out to be a young friend, aged beyond recognition by prison."I'd give anything to get them all out," Sergei says. "I think we should pay any price. But I don't want them to drop all sanctions."Sergei's wife, now the leader of the opposition, is overjoyed to have him back with her and their children. But Svetlana tells me she i's wary of the next US move."We cannot soften the sanctions until repressions fully stop," she argues. "For 14 people released, 28 more were detained immediately in Belarus. For Lukashenko, there is no change in policy."Sergei's first week of freedom has passed in a whirl of activity. He has met politicians, made speeches and written to Donald Trump with his thanks. He has also been catching up on lost time with his children – as well as all the news he has missed in what about his ambitions? The last time he and Svetlana were together she was a housewife and he was the political one. So could there be tensions? "I don't have any claims to her role," Sergei insists. "I don't need that. I just need a democratic Belarus."
Arab News
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
'Waiting for others': Belarusians hope for more prisoner releases
WARSAW: Belarusian exile Asya watched from the sidelines in central Warsaw as a crowd greeted and applauded Sergei Tikhanovsky, the Belarus opposition figure who was unexpectedly released, barely recognizable after five years in prison. A popular blogger, Tikhanovsky, 46, was jailed in 2020, weeks before he was due to stand in presidential elections against Belarus's long-time leader, Alexander Lukashenko. His arrest was the opening salvo in a sweeping crackdown that escalated after Lukashenko claimed victory over Svetlana Tikhanovskaya — Tikhanovsky's wife, who ran in his place — in a ballot widely decried by critics and rights groups as rigged. Asya was among several hundred fellow Belarusians, living in exile in neighboring Poland, celebrating his surprise release under pressure from the United States. But her mind was with others still incarcerated. 'I am happy for those who are freed, but with each release I always look for the names of my friends,' she said. There are 1,169 political prisoners in Belarus, according to the Viasna rights group. The sight of Tikhanovsky — who lost almost half his weight and appeared to have drastically aged behind bars — has given even more urgency to securing their release, Asya said. 'Honestly, regime change is needed. But for me, the priority is for people to be freed and for them to be safe,' she said. Having been held incommunicado since March 2023, many had long feared for how Tikhanovsky was being treated. His emaciated appearance was still a shock. 'I cried all day when I saw him,' said Alexandra Khanevich, a 71-year-old activist who fled Belarus in the wake of the protests. 'My mother went through concentration camps... This is what I thought of.' Tikhanovskaya said the couple's young daughter did not recognize him. The bones on his face and fingers are visible, and the 46-year-old looks far older. 'Only when we heard his voice, we knew it was really him,' said Yulia Vlasenko, who had protested in 2020 against Lukashenko in the eastern city of Vitebsk. Others said they knew him by his distinctive ears. Tikhanovsky has broken down in tears several times when talking about his ordeal in prison, describing alleged torture and being held in solitary confinement. Prison officials had attempted to 'fatten him up' in the months before his release by giving him 'meat, fats, butter,' he told a rally in Warsaw. He believes there will be more releases. Officers from the KGB state security service — which has retained the feared Soviet-era name — were touring prisons pressuring people to sign statements asking for pardons from Lukashenko, he said. Many were hopeful his release could give a new energy to the mostly exiled Belarusian opposition movement. Tikhanovsky, who has pledged not to get in the way of his wife, said he has 'even more energy' than before he was jailed. The couple are radically different in style. Svetlana has spent five years touring Western capitals, meeting leaders in polished suits. Sergei is known for his tongue-in-cheek colloquialisms, having famously called Lukashenko a 'cockroach' in one YouTube broadcast. 'Svetlana is more of a diplomat... Sergei is like from the street,' said protester Alexandra Dobrovaya, giggling. Vitaly Moisa, a 42-year-old in construction, said he hoped the pair would be a 'double hit' for the regime, with the opposition boosted by Tikhanovsky's 'charisma.' He drove more than six hours from southern Poland to see 'hero' Tikhanovsky. 'It's hard to imagine he was not broken by such conditions,' he said. Many came to the rally with masks on, fearing retribution for their families back home if they were recognized attending the rally. Ukrainian Oleg Abrashim — who has never been to Belarus — had come with a mission: to give Tikhanovsky a hand-written letter from his Belarusian girlfriend. 'She did not want to come as it will be full of the KGB and she has not got her parents out yet,' he told AFP. Listening to Tikhanovsky, he was reminded of the style of someone back home he had voted for in 2019: Volodymyr Zelensky. 'I understand why they followed him,' Abrashim said. From Ukraine's Kharkiv, which has been pounded relentlessly by Belarus's ally Russia since it invaded, he was inspired by the messages of hope. 'Belarus and Ukraine should be free,' he said, clutching the letter.
Times
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Times
Belarus opposition leader released early after five years
After her political activist husband was arrested, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya found herself thrust into the limelight, taking his place as a leading opponent of the autocratic regime of Belarus. Sergei Tikhanovsky was detained in May 2020 after announcing a plan to run against the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in the election that year. For five years, largely spent in exile, Tikhanovskaya became the face of the country's opposition while her husband sat in prison. On Saturday he was released unexpectedly and husband and wife were reunited. Tikhanovskaya shared a video on social media of her hugging her husband joyfully as onlookers clapped. She described it as a victory for Belarusian political prisoners and urged the international community to maintain pressure on Lukashenko's government to release more than 1,100 remaining political detainees.
Free Malaysia Today
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Freed Belarusian opposition figure urges Trump to help release all prisoners
Belarusian Sergei Tikhanovsky had planned to run in the 2020 presidential election, but was arrested and detained weeks before the vote. (AFP pic) VILNIUS : Belarusian opposition figure Sergei Tikhanovsky, who was released following an appeal from the White House, said today that US President Donald Trump could secure the freedom of all Belarusian political prisoners. A tearful and emaciated Tikhanovsky spoke to reporters in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius a day after he was released from several years of prison with more than a dozen others. 'President Trump now has the power and opportunity to free all political prisoners in Belarus with a single word, and I ask him to do so, to say that word,' Tikhanovsky said. The eastern European country still holds more than 1,000 political prisoners in its jails, according to Belarusian human rights group Viasna. Tikhanovsky told reporters he hoped to return to Belarus one day 'but when, I don't know yet'. 'You have to understand, I spent more than five years alone in a solitary cell,' he said. 'I was completely isolated. I have very little information and now I need to find out a lot of things.' Tikhanovsky was joined at the press conference by his wife Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who took the mantle of the opposition movement after he was jailed. 'The leader of the opposition is Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, my wife. And I am not going to challenge that,' Tikhanovsky said. The prisoner release on Saturday came just hours after US special envoy Keith Kellogg met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk, the highest-profile US visit in years. Tikhanovsky, 46, had been imprisoned for more than five years. The popular Youtuber had planned to run against Lukashenko in the August 2020 presidential election, but was arrested and detained weeks before the vote. A charismatic activist, Tikhanovsky drew the ire of authorities for his campaign slogan, 'Stop the cockroach', a reference to Lukashenko. He was sentenced in 2021 to 18 years in prison for 'organising riots' and 'inciting hatred', then to another 18 months for 'insubordination'. Tikhanovskaya – a political novice at the time of her husband's arrest – ran against Lukashenko in his place but lost after what the opposition described as widespread falsification. She later fled Belarus. Belarusian autocrat Lukashenko claimed a record seventh term in elections earlier this year that observers dismissed as a farce. Tikhanovskaya, who has been living in exile in Lithuania, said today 'it was incredibly emotional for me to see finally my husband after long five years'. 'He is alive and we together again and remain committed to our fight,' she told reporters, before thanking Trump and his administration for their 'tireless efforts'. Lithuania shelters tens of thousands of Belarusians, many of whom moved there as Minsk clamped down on dissent in the 2020 presidential vote's aftermath. The Baltic state is also a hub for some Russian opposition figures, including Leonid Volkov, an ally of the late Alexei Navalny. European politicians and members of Belarus's exiled opposition have welcomed the news of Tikhanovsky's release. Among the 13 others freed were Radio Liberty journalist Igor Karnei, arrested in 2023 and jailed for participating in an 'extremist' organisation. Lithuania said they were now receiving 'proper care' in the Baltic state. Though none of the released prisoners needed emergency medical assistance, 'one of them needed emergency medical attention' as 'they were imprisoned in difficult conditions', Lithuanian foreign minister Kestutis Budrys told the LRT public broadcaster, without elaborating. Belarus, ruled by Lukashenko since 1994, has outlawed all genuine opposition parties. It is the only European country to retain the death penalty as a punishment. Lukashenko's spokesman said the Belarusian leader had ordered the release of the prisoners on Trump's 'request', Russian state media reported. The US leader appeared to take credit, writing 'Thank you President Trump!' on social media, alongside a link to a news story about the prisoner release.
BBC News
22-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Belarus opposition leader's husband urges Trump to help free other prisoners
Sergei Tikhanovsky, the husband of Belarus' opposition leader, has called on US President Donald Trump to "just say the word" and ask for all political prisoners in Belarus to be opposition activist was freed unexpectedly on Saturday and reunited with his wife in Lithuania. Thirteen other political prisoners were also released and forced into move came as US special envoy Keith Kellogg travelled to Minsk, the Belarusian capital, and met the country's authoritarian leader Alexander was the first high-profile American visit in many years. In an emotional press conference the day after his release, Tikhanovsky broke down in tears as he described his five years in solitary confinement and called for the freedom of more than 1,000 political prisoners still behind was arrested in 2020 as he planned to run for president against Lukashenko in that summer's elections. He was jailed for 18 years in 2021 after a court convicted him of rallying mass protests against Lukashenko, among other politically motivated a prominent opposition figure, Tikhanovsky said he had been held in what he described as the "strictest possible regime", cut off from all contact with the outside world."You don't even get letters, not a single call. For five years, I couldn't even go to confession with a priest. No letters, no calls, no priest, no lawyer," he said. Then he began to sob."It's a nightmare," he said. "You ask about torture. Is that not torture? Murderers get to watch TV in prison, they have everything. But I didn't even get letters. Or soap. Or a toothbrush."He has barely spoken to anyone but prison guards for years and on Sunday sometimes struggled for words."How can they do that? You [the regime] consider us criminals. But we have rights," he said."It's inhuman. It's a nightmare. They have to stop this. We have to get people out."He called on the US president for more help."Trump has such power and such possibilities, that with one word he could free all political prisoners. I ask him to say that word now," he added. His wife, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, wiped away her own tears as he spoke. Earlier she had called him her "personal hero".She also described how their daughter hadn't recognised her father because he had changed so much in prison and lost a lot of said Lukashenko had received only one thing from the US administration in return for the prisoner release on Saturday - the visit from US envoy can present that as a diplomatic breakthrough after years of political isolation for the repression of domestic dissent and for his support for Russia's full-scale invasion of Tikhanovsky said what Belarus wants most is the removal of US his arrest, Tikhanovsky was a colourful, outspoken figure who had a big following in Belarus on social video blogger and activist used to call on people to "stop the cockroach", referring to Lukashenko, and would tour the country to meet people in town squares and villages to hear their his arrest in 2020, his wife stepped in to run for president in his place in the August Lukashenko declared another landslide win, her supporters flooded the streets in the biggest protests Belarus has ever were ruthlessly crushed, and Tikhanovskaya was forced to flee the country."The leader of the opposition is Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, my wife, and I don't make any claim to anything," Tikhanovsky clarified on Sunday, insisting that he had no intention of taking over leadership of the Belarusian opposition he had raised a fist of defiance."I want to say to all Belarusians - if you were waiting for a symbol, this is it," he said, urging them to stand up to said he regretted nothing he had done - despite the treatment he received as a he added his release from prison had saved his life, because he would not have survived his full sentence behind bars in such of thousands of Belarusians are estimated to have left their country since the brutal crackdown on widespread opposition protests in of thousands of people have been arrested in the country in the past five years for political reasons, according to human rights group Viasna.
