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A Catholic Nobel Peace Prize winner once entombed by Belarus’s strongman regime has now found liberty in an unexpected and extraordinary turn of events.

Ales Bialiatski, a leading human rights advocate and former political prisoner, was among 123 detainees released by Belarus’s government in a December 13 maneuver that many believe is part of a quiet diplomatic bargain involving Western economic sanctions, as OSV News reports.

Bialiatski, 63, was deported to Lithuania with other political prisoners, ending a harsh, nearly three-year chapter marked by surveillance, repression, and religious discrimination inside a penal colony infamous for its conditions.

Belarus Pushes Political Prisoners Out While Retaining More Than 1,000

The former head of the Viasna Human Rights Center had been sentenced to 10 years in prison in March 2023, accused of supposed smuggling and financial crimes tied to protests—standard charges in Belarus’s playbook for silencing dissent.

But instead of serving five more years, he was abruptly blindfolded, driven to the border, and expelled—passport in hand, freedom granted without ceremony or apology.

His release, which echoed with political timing, aligns with apparent concessions from the United States over sanctions on Belarus’s lucrative potash industry—one of Minsk’s economic pressure points.

‘A Miracle From God,’ Says Freed Prisoner

“I was supposed to stay in jail for another five years,” Bialiatski said following his release, adding, “yet now I’m free. This is truly a miracle from God.”

After more than three years of family separation and stripped possessions, the Nobel laureate was reunited with his wife in Lithuania, even while over a thousand political prisoners remain locked away under President Alexander Lukashenko’s rule.

Bialiatski described his experience inside Penal Colony No. 9 as deeply isolating, where political inmates remained under particular scrutiny and threats. “Psychologically, it still feels as if part of me is in prison,” he said.

Religious Discrimination Behind Bars Raises Alarm

As a Catholic, Bialiatski noted a stark contrast in how faith was treated behind bars—Orthodox clergy were allowed weekly visits, while Catholic inmates were forced into spiritual silence.

“Whereas Orthodox clergy could come once a week, nothing similar was permitted for Catholics — you had to keep your faith to yourself to avoid harming others,” he said, calling out the open religious disparity in the prison system.

He praised efforts from the Vatican, noting that Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti’s recent visit to Minsk likely influenced the timing of the releases. The cardinal had previously visited Bialiatski in prison a decade earlier.

Faith Leaders, Activists Gain Freedom—But Not All

Two other Catholic priests, Father Henrykh Akalatovich and Father Andrzej Juchniewicz, both jailed in 2025 for dubious charges, were also among those released. Likewise, several Christian political leaders were freed, including Pavel Seviarynets and Aliaksandr Fiaduta.

Ukraine received 114 detainees, some of whom were Belarusian opposition figures like Maria Kolesnikova and Viktor Babaryko. Their appearance at a press conference in Chernihiv made clear that freedom for Belarus’s dissidents comes abroad, not at home.

Still, over 1,000 remain imprisoned, including young Carmelite priest Father Grzegorz Gawel and journalist Andrzej Poczobut, set to receive a major human rights honor, the Sakharov Prize, on December 16. Belarusian watchdog group Christian Vision emphasized that celebrations should not drown out these ongoing injustices.

Hope Tempered by Harsh Reality

“While the latest releases have been met with euphoria, joy, and celebration, we must constantly remember that many other people remain in prison,” said Natallia Vasilevich, a leader with Christian Vision.

Belarus’s Catholic Church, already under siege, is shrinking fast. The number of parishes has dropped from 500 to 440 in a year, squeezed by mounting rules that now demand religious groups re-register or face elimination under a 2023 law on “freedom of conscience.”

Bialiatski, despite his faith roots and efforts in founding Catholic publications after communism, now says his post-prison mission is clarifying. “The priority must be to ensure this vast repression doesn’t last,” he said. Faith will stay close; activism comes first.