Overview
- His wife and the human rights group Viasna say the 69-year-old is home following a stroke and has lingering speech difficulties.
- Statkewitsch was freed in September after U.S.-brokered talks but refused exile, appeared near the Lithuania border, and was soon re-arrested.
- He was held in a northern penal colony known for harsh conditions, where he had previously spent time in solitary confinement.
- Belarus has released more than 430 political prisoners in total, according to reporting, yet rights groups say over a thousand remain jailed.
- President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, has ruled for over three decades, while the United States has pressed for broader releases, with President Donald Trump seeking the release of roughly 1,300–1,400 detainees.