The release or exchange of detainees and political prisoners is often a highly theatrical spectacle of diplomacy.
But the release of 123 political prisoners and detainees from Belarus on December 13th was a muted affair, conducted with little fanfare – a missed opportunity by the current U.S. administration to draw attention to the stakes of these diplomatic successes for global human rights.
Remember, for example, the August 2024 multi-national prisoner exchange in Ankara, which saw the release of former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, American journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, Russian political dissidents and others, in exchange for Russian intelligence operatives. With much fanfare, Russian President Vladimir Putin “strode along a red carpet” to greet the released spies with oversized bouquets and “the Motherland hasn’t forgotten about you for a minute.” President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed the Americans upon arrival in Maryland, flanked by military and family members. Biden called the exchange a “feat of diplomacy” and expressed relief that the prisoners’ ordeal was finally over.
The exchange and accompanying spectacle, as it played out under the Biden Administration, reinforced the underlying narrative that the United States values human rights and cooperates with European allies.
But this recent event, the largest one-time release by the Belarusian autocrat Aleksandr Lukashenko, surprisingly paled in theatrical comparison.
This is a lost occasion to showcase American commitments to democracy and human rights.
In exchange for some relief of U.S. sanctions on Belarusian potash, Lukashenko released these prisoners, including a number of high-profile political figures and human rights activists. The U.S. Administration insisted on the release of well-known and symbolic figures such as the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Ales Bialiatski, 2020 presidential candidate Viktar Barbaryka, and Maryia Kalesnikava, the musician and political activist who joined forces with presidential candidate and presumed winner, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, in the discredited, fraudulent 2020 election in Belarus.
Unexpectedly, many of the prisoners were released and forcibly deported to Ukraine rather than Lithuania, where Tsikhanouskaya’s office works “to consolidate the democratic forces of Belarus to secure the country’s transition from dictatorship to democracy.” Advocacy for the release of Belarusian political prisoners has been an ongoing project of her office, and she was prepared to receive them.
Diverting most of the now-stateless Belarusian exiles to Ukraine was meant to undermine Tsikhanouskaya’s influence, reduce potential for a sensational media event in favor of pro-democracy forces, create conflict among Belarusian dissidents and activists, and further complicate the lives of those released. Joined by five released Ukrainians and several prisoners from other nations, the freed Belarusians were met by Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke virtually with Belarusian political prisoners on December 15, later broadcasting this call widely.
While the deal scores a recognizable win for the Trump Administration in Eastern Europe, where it has struggled to show effectiveness and influence, Lukashenko leveraged the diplomatic meeting with U.S. Special Envoy John Coale to try to signal his strategic significance in the region. When Coale greeted only nine of the released prisoners in Vilnius while the greater number arrived in Ukraine, the overall visible impact of the negotiation was diminished. Coale, who was angling for the release of over 1,000 political prisoners held in Belarus, showed visible disappointment.
Nevertheless, he offered praise to Lukashenko, whom the U.S. did not officially recognize as the legitimate president of Belarus following the 2020 election. He praised the dictator who still imprisons over a thousand people unlawfully. Who released the father Barbaryka, but not the son.
The release of the wrongfully detained is cause for celebration, as the George W. Bush Center noted on Tuesday while condemning their imprisonments in the first place. Many of those who endured years inBelarus’s brutal prisons were tortured, denied medical care and legal services, held incommunicado and suffered other abuses and humiliations. Amnesty International called for reparations for the victims and accountability for perpetrators. Republican New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith, co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and primary author of legislation focused on supporting human rights and democracy in Belarus, issued a statement praising this diplomatic achievement.
The muffled and muted response regarding human rights by the U.S. Administration itself and Lukashenko’s coordinated efforts to undermine signs of celebration and relief by the democratic forces of Belarus thwarts efforts to support those who endured these hardships and those who remain wrongfully imprisoned in dictatorships across the globe. Unlike inFebruary, when Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a brief statement about the release of unjustly held prisoners, he has yet to make a statement about this release, the largest such release since Washington began negotiations with Lukashenko this year.
While silence may signal ongoing diplomatic efforts, the President and State Department miss an opportunity to advocate for the release of remaining political prisoners, including the journalists, artists, human rights advocates, lawyers, pro-democracy politicians, and other members of civil society who have been silenced in Belarus. Public demonstrations of the diplomatic efforts leading to the release of political prisoners also draw attention to the resources newly released exiles will need. Since the Belarusians who were released were forcibly deported and stripped of their passports, they are especially vulnerable and need asylum and financial support.
We should take this opportunity to reaffirm a commitment to human rights and our relationships with democratic allies. For an administration drawn to the spectacular, this lack of display demonstrates the lack of vigor in forwarding these core American values.