Collected photo

WARSAW, June 21, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A top Belarus opposition leader, Sergei 
Tikhanovsky, has been released from jail after being pardoned, Belarusian 
human rights group Viasna said on Saturday.

His wife Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who took over the opposition cause after his 
jailing, shared a video of him smiling and embracing her after his release 
with the caption: "FREE".

Tikhanovsky, 46, had been imprisoned for more than five years.

He planned to run against incumbent Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in 
the August 2020 presidential election, but was arrested and detained weeks 
before the vote.

His wife Svetlana -- a political novice at the time of his arrest -- took his 
place in the polls.

He was sentenced in 2021 to 18 years in prison for "organising riots" and 
"inciting hatred" and then to 18 months extra for "insubordination".

Belarus, ruled by Lukashenko since 1994, has outlawed all opposition 
movements and is the only European country to retain the death penalty as a 
punishment.

There are more than 1,000 political prisoners in the country, according to 
Viasna.