Over the past six months, approximately 150 political prisoners have been released from Belarusian prisons. Among them are well-known figures such as Viktar Babaryka, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Ales Bialacki, Aliaksandr Fiaduta, Pavel Seviarynets, and Uladzimir Matskevich. Their release became possible due to complex and often unseen diplomatic efforts, including the involvement of the United States, with direct engagement by President Donald J. Trump and the U.S. Special Representative for Belarus, John Coale.
But release from prison is not the end.
Today, virtually none of these former prisoners have been able to obtain proper legal documentation in the European Union. Without documents, they cannot work legally, access healthcare, travel, or rebuild their lives in any meaningful way. After surviving imprisonment and torture, they now find themselves in a new — peaceful, but very real — legal limbo.
I want to be clear: I did not personally face this problem. When I was released, I held not only Belarusian citizenship (my Belarusian passport was confiscated), but also U.S. citizenship. That gave me legal status and valid travel documents, allowing me to resume my life relatively quickly.
Precisely because of that, I feel a moral obligation to speak up for those who were less fortunate.
This is not a criticism of Europe. I understand that legal procedures, political constraints, and bureaucratic limits exist. But the fact remains: more than a hundred people whose lives were already positively changed through international intervention are now left in a state that is, in practice, almost rightless.
That is why I am publicly calling on President Donald J. Trump and U.S. Special Representative for Belarus John Coale to engage with this issue.
If existing European mechanisms are not functioning or are moving too slowly, it makes sense to consider a humanitarian solution on the part of the United States — especially given that the U.S. already played a decisive role in securing these individuals’ release from prison.
This is not about politics or immigration slogans. It is about real people, responsibility, and finishing the work that has already begun.
Telegram