Veteran dissident, journalist among 52 prisoners released by Belarus

Sergei Tikhanovsky and Mikola Statkevich inside a defendants' cage during the verdict hearing in the trial on charges of organising riots and inciting social hatred, at a detention centre in the southeastern city of Gomel on December 14, 2021. [AFP]

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's government has freed 52 political prisoners, including a veteran opposition figure, neighbouring Lithuania said on Thursday, crediting US efforts to secure their release.

Tens of thousands of Belarusians took to the streets in 2020 to protest against what they called a sham presidential election in which Lukashenko secured himself a sixth term.