MINSK: Belarusian opposition politician Mikola Statkevich, who refused deportation to Lithuania after his 2025 release and was imprisoned again, has been freed after he suffered a stroke while in custody, exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said on Thursday. Statkevich was one of 52 prisoners freed in Belarus in September 2025 after an appeal from US President Donald Trump, including journalists and political opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko. All were brought to the Lithuanian border, but Statkevich was the only one who refused to cross.

MINSK: Belarusian opposition politician Mikola Statkevich, who refused deportation to Lithuania after his 2025 release and was imprisoned again, has been freed after he suffered a…

Mikola Statkevich, who spent more than five years in prison in his native Belarus, is now recovering from a stroke at home, his wife says.