Germany will take in two prominent opposition figures from Belarus who were recently released from prison, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Sunday.
Dobrindt told German public broadcaster ARD that they are Maria Kalesnikava and former presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka.
“We have a great interest in strengthening this democracy movement, even if it now has to develop outside of Belarus,” he explained. “And that is why we will take in today two of the outstanding politicians, opposition politicians, who were in prison.”
On Saturday, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko released 123 political prisoners, including Kalesnikava and Babaryka.
The release was carried out “within the framework of agreements made with US President Donald Trump and at his request,” Lukashenko’s press service in Minsk stated.
Kalesnikava was one of the leaders of the mass protests following the 2020 presidential election, which was overshadowed by unprecedented allegations of manipulation. Lukashenko suppressed the protests.
Kalesnikava was arrested in September 2020 and a year later was sentenced to an 11-year prison term for conspiracy to overthrow the government. She was considered a political prisoner.
Alexander Dobrindt, German Minister of the Interior, arrives at the start of the German Cabinet meeting in the Chancellery. Michael Kappeler/dpa