Freed prisoners thank Trump but some say they would rather have stayed in Belarus
By Andrius Sytas
September 12, 20258:08 AM CDT
Updated 2 hours ago
- Freed Belarusian prisoners thank Trump for his role
- Some say they wanted to go home on their release
- Exiled opposition says deal amounts to forced deportation
VILNIUS, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Belarusian prisoners released from jail on Thursday and exiled to Lithuania thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for his role but some said they would rather not have been forced to leave Belarus, especially as many were due to be freed soon anyway.
Belarus freed 52 prisoners including an EU employee after an appeal from Trump, as Washington and Minsk pursue a rapprochement viewed by many European leaders with scepticism given Minsk's crackdown on opponents and support for Russia's war in Ukraine. Those released were brought to Lithuania.
The exiled opposition says freed political prisoners should have the right to stay in Belarus rather than submit to what it says are in effect forced deportations.
"I wanted (to go) home, to my home in Belarus. They brought me here," one of the released prisoners, Aleksandr Mantsevich, told Reuters outside the U.S. embassy in Vilnius, where he was driven from a Belarus jail.
About half of the prisoners released on Thursday by longtime Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko were almost at the end of their jail terms, said senior opposition official Franak Viacorka.
"Just imagine, they were looking forward to getting free soon, and suddenly they find themselves....
reuters.com
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