The nineteen Nobel Prize bearers signed an open letter, in which they call on US President Donald Trumpto continue to put pressure on the release of 1300 political prisoners in Belarus. At the same time, they thanked Trump for raising this question last week in a call with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
“With respect, we urgently ask you to continue your active effort to ensure the immediate release of all prisoners of conscience in Belarus. Their freedom not only will raise justice for individuals, but also open the way to reconciliation and dialogue, ”says the letter.
Among his signatories are Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Costa Rican President Óscar Arias, Nobel Literature Literature Literature Literature Viadlana Alexiyevich and Herta Müllerova and 16 prizes for physics, chemistry, medicine and economics.
The authors of the letter also called on to stop politically motivated criminal prosecutions, To facilitate the return of Belarusians who fled abroad, when Lukashenko in 2020 suppressed mass protests after the presidential election.
Trump’s surprising step came last Friday just a few hours after Exile Belarusian opposition activist Dmitry Bolkunec sent an email to US President with a request to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at Alaska He raised the question of Belarusian prisoners. Lukashenko is an ally of Putin. Bolkunec said he had no doubt that Trump’s decision to contact Lukashenko was a spontaneous response to his e-mail, which he sent a copy of which he sent to several presidential advisors.
Since the middle of 2024, several hundred people convicted of “extremism” and other politically related crimes have been released in Belarus, which analysts consider Lukashenko’s efforts to alleviate their isolation from Western countries. Lukashenko denies that there were some political prisoners in Belarus. A similar letter was published by 28 Nobel Prize laureates in March 2024.
