Belarus prisoners forcibly deported to Lithuania after US deal, says opposition

"Belarusian prisoners released from jail and exiled to Lithuania in a US-brokered deal have said they were confused over having to leave Belarus especially as many were almost due to be freed anyway. Belarus freed 52 prisoners including an EU employee on Thursday after an appeal from Donald Trump as Washington and Minsk consider a rapprochement that many European leaders have viewed with scepticism. The exiled opposition says freed political prisoners should have the right to stay in Belarus rather than submit to what it says are in effect forced deportations."

"I wanted to go home, to my home in Belarus. They brought me here, one of the released prisoners, Aleksandr Mantsevich, told Reuters outside the US embassy in Vilnius, where he had been driven from the Belarus jail. About half of the prisoners released on Thursday by the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, were almost at the end of their jail terms, said Franak Viacorka, a senior opposition official. Just imagine, they were looking forward to getting free soon and suddenly they find themselves deported, separated from family, they don't have passports and they can't go back, he said."

Fifty-two prisoners were released from Belarus and sent to Lithuania under a US-brokered deal, including an EU employee. Many released detainees reported confusion and distress about being forced to leave Belarus while being close to the ends of their sentences. Opposition figures say political prisoners should have the right to remain in Belarus rather than face effective deportation. One released prisoner said he wanted to return home to Belarus. A senior opposition official said about half of those released were near the end of their jail terms and noted families were separated and return was blocked by lack of passports. A prominent opposition politician refused exile and returned to Belarus.

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