15/12/2025 (Agence Europe) – On Saturday 13 December, European leaders welcomed the release of 123 political prisoners in Belarus, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski and opposition figure Maria Kalesnikava, as well as European nationals. “This development strengthens [...] our resolve to keep fighting for all the remaining prisoners who are behind bars in Belarus because they had the courage to speak truth to power. The fight for human rights and justice in Belarus must continue until the democratic aspirations of the Belarusian people are fulfilled”, stressed President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on X. For her part, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas thanked the United States for making the releases possible, in exchange for lifting US sanctions against the country’s potash industry. There are still more than 1,000 political prisoners in Belarus. (CG)