Lithuania urges Minsk to release political prisoners
Sunday 9th August 2026 on 10:15 in
Lithuania
As Belarusians mark the sixth anniversary of the 2020 presidential election and the mass protests that followed, Lithuania is urging Minsk to release political prisoners and end repression, LRT reported, citing a statement from the Foreign Ministry.
“Lithuania calls on the Belarusian regime to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners, end repression against Belarusian society, stop supporting Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and end hybrid attacks,” the ministry said.
The ministry said Vilnius would continue seeking accountability for those responsible for human rights violations, repression and complicity in Russia’s aggression. Lithuania will also continue supporting Belarusian civil society, independent media, human rights defenders and democratic forces led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
Lithuania also said it would support the European Union’s response, international efforts to increase the regime’s isolation and stronger backing for Belarus’s democratic future.
The ministry said a democratic, independent and peaceful Belarus was in the interests of the Belarusian people, Lithuania and Europe. It added that the Belarusian regime’s policies directly affected the security of Lithuania and Europe because Minsk remained complicit in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and was carrying out hybrid attacks against EU countries, including encouraging illegal migration for political purposes.
Six years after Belarus’s disputed presidential election on August 9, 2020, Lithuania and the international community continue not to recognise the election results and express solidarity with Belarusians defending democracy, human rights and the rule of law despite repression.
The Foreign Ministry said no fundamental changes had taken place in Belarus over the past six years. Despite isolated gestures by the regime, it said, the situation remained essentially unchanged, the repressive apparatus was intact and the issue of political prisoners had not been resolved.