Tsikhanouski’s arrest and activism sparked unprecedented protests in Belarus, challenging Lukashenko’s decades-long rule.

Belarus opposition leader Siarhei Tsikhanouski has been released from prison after five years, his wife Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya said in a post on X.

Tsikhanouskaya, who took over the opposition cause after her husband’s jailing, shared a video of him on Saturday, smiling and embracing her after his release with the caption: “FREE”.

“My husband Siarhei is free! It’s hard to describe the joy in my heart,” she wrote on X, thanking United States President Donald Trump, US envoy Keith Kellogg, and European allies.

“We’re not done. 1150 political prisoners remain behind bars. All must be released,” she added.