By Eglė Samoškaitė, LRT.lt.
Belarus has released 52 political prisoners, including Lithuanian citizens, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda announced Thursday at an emergency press conference.
The group included opposition figures, journalists, and participants in anti-government protests, as well as foreign nationals from several European countries. Among those freed was Lithuanian citizen Elena Ramanauskienė, a former marketing head at the Belarus-owned Belorus sanatorium. Her son had earlier appealed directly to Nausėda for help in securing her release.
The Belarusian opposition portal afn.by and ONT television reported that Ramanauskienė was accused of repeatedly passing on information about guests visiting the resort, including high-ranking Belarusian officials. Nausėda said he made enormous efforts to secure her release.
“I want to sincerely thank US President Donald Trump, who was involved in this release operation from beginning to end,” Nausėda said. “What happened is a major diplomatic success for America and for all of us.”
Alongside Lithuanian citizens, prisoners from the United Kingdom, Latvia, Poland, Germany and France were also released and crossed into Lithuania with Belarusian opposition activists, Nausėda said.
