Authoritarian Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has freed two prominent opponents from prison in an apparent attempt to soothe ties with the European Union after it tightened sanctions against his regime.
Former senior diplomat Andrei Sannikov and ally Dmitry Bondarenko were freed over the weekend, ending jail terms they received for their roles in protests against Mr Lukashenko’s allegedly fraudulent victory in a December 2010 election, in which Sannikov was a candidate.
“Thank you all for your support and solidarity,” Mr Sannikov told supporters as he arrived in Minsk on Saturday.
“I will continue my political activity so that Belarus becomes a free European country,” said Mr Bondarenko, whose wife, Olga, added: “This is without doubt the result of European sanctions.”
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore, in his role as chairman of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, welcomed the release of the dissidents but said he was “concerned over the fate of other jailed political opponents”.
“I call upon President Lukashenko to build upon this positive development and release all remaining jailed opposition leaders.” – (Reuters)