Red ribbons and Palestinian flags were seen in London at a vigil calling for the release of thousands of Palestinians being held without charge in Israeli prisons. The vigil focused on Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, who’s been held for nearly one year. Al Jazeera’s Milena Veselinovic was there.
Published On 20 Dec 202520 Dec 2025
Share
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, pictured at a press conference in January, agreed to release 123 political prisoners on Saturday in exchange for the United States dropping its crippling sanctions against the potash industry in Belarus. File Photo by Belarus President Press Service/EPA-EFE
Dec. 13 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Saturday ended U.S. sanctions on potash fertilizers from Belarus in exchange for Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko releasing 123 political prisoners.
Lukashenko freed the prisoners, who include Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and political opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova, in an effort to improve the Russia-allied nation’s relations with the United States, Bloomberg and the Los Angeles Times reported.
“In accordance with President Trump’s instructions, the United States is lifting sanctions on potash,” U.S. Special Envoy John Coale told Belta, Belarus’ official news agency.
“I believe this is a very good step by the United States for Belarus,” Coale said. “We are lifting them now.”
Belarus has been sanctioned by the U.S. and other Western nations since 2021 because of Lukashenko’s authoritarian rule and decades of political repression.
Sanctions have ramped up since 2022 because Lukashenko also allowed Russian President Vladimir Putin to launch his invasion of Ukraine from Belarus.
In 2024, Lukashenko started releasing prisoners in order to appease Western leaders, including Trump, and get sanctions lifted that have crippled the Belarusian potash industry.
Since July 2024, before Saturday’s prisoner release, Belarus has freed more than 430 political prisoners.
According to Coale, the United States is “constantly talking” to Belarus and lifting the U.S. sanctions on potash — European sanctions, which have been called more consequential than the U.S. sanctions, remain in place — is a step toward reaching a point where all sanctions against the country have been removed.
“As relations between the two countries normalize, more sanctions will be lifted,” Coale said.
DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,
Nobel Peace Prize winner among dozens released as United States removes potash sanctions.
Published On 13 Dec 202513 Dec 2025
Share
Belarus has freed 123 prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski and leading opposition figure Maria Kalesnikava, in exchange for sanctions relief from the United States.
John Coale, the US special envoy for Belarus, announced the lifting of sanctions on potash on Saturday after two days of talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk.
Belarus is a leading global producer of potash, a key component in fertilisers,
The prisoner release was by far the biggest by Lukashenko since Trump’s administration opened talks this year with the close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Western governments had previously shunned him because of his crushing of dissent and backing for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Separately, Ukraine’s prisoner of war coordination centre said it had received 114 prisoners released by Belarus, including Ukrainian citizens accused of working for Ukrainian intelligence and Belarusian political prisoners.
The centre’s statement said the released captives would receive medical attention, adding that the Belarusian citizens who so wished would subsequently be transported to Poland or Lithuania.
More to come.