Latest news with #SvetlanaTikhanovskaya
CNN
28-06-2025
- Politics
- CNN
‘They didn't break me': Belarusian opposition figure speaks out after time in prison
Sergey Tikhanovsky, a Belarusian dissident who was freed after five years in detention and the husband of exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, joins CNN's Jim Sciutto to discuss and share details about his time in prison.
CNN
28-06-2025
- Politics
- CNN
‘They didn't break me': Belarusian opposition figure speaks out after time in prison
Sergey Tikhanovsky, a Belarusian dissident who was freed after five years in detention and the husband of exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, joins CNN's Jim Sciutto to discuss and share details about his time in prison.
Scotsman
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
Keep the pressure on Belarus
Angus Robertson with Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya when she visited the Scottish Parliament with members of the People's Consulate of Belarus in Scotland Amid war in Ukraine, destruction in the Middle East and instability throughout the global system, places and people are often sadly forgotten. This is certainly the case with Belarus and the thousands of people imprisoned by its dictatorial president Alexsandr Lukashenko. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... For decades he's been clinging to power with falsified elections, suppressing democracy and free speech, as well as toadying up to Russian president Vladimir Putin. Now, out of the blue he has released 14 political prisoners, including Sergei Tikhanovsky, the husband of Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. He had been held for five years in solitary confinement after his arrest when planning to run for the presidency in the 2020 elections. More than 1000 political prisoners are still behind bars. His release coincided with a visit to Belarusian capital Minsk by US special envoy Keith Kellogg who met with Lukashenko. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Speaking about his treatment Tikhanovsky said 'It's inhuman. It's a nightmare. They have to stop this. We have to get people out.' He called on the United States administration 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.' In recent years his wife Svetlana has been touring international capitals to keep Belarus in the news and to campaign for the release of all political prisoners. It was an honour to meet Svetlana when she visited the Scottish Parliament with members of the People's Consulate of Belarus in Scotland. We must keep up the pressure for the release of all political prisoners. Angus Robertson is SNP MSP for Edinburgh Central and Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Secretary
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.
