Николай Статкевич. Фото: @maryna.adamovic
Natallia Eismant, press secretary to Alyaksandr Lukashenka, said the president approved a request from relatives of political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich to release him after his illness. She made the statement in a comment to RIA Novosti.
“First of all, I want to recall that the decision to pardon Mikalai Statkevich was taken by the president a long time ago. But at that time Statkevich refused to go to the ‘paradise garden’. And he returned to prison. A considerable amount of time has passed since then, and the convicted person developed health problems. In particular, he suffered a cerebral infarction,” she said.
According to Eismant, this was reported to Lukashenka, who then decided “on his immediate transfer to a hospital, where all necessary and timely assistance was provided — his life was saved.”
“After that, the head of state received numerous appeals from relatives — his wife and family members — asking that the convicted person be allowed to go home so that they could look after and care for him. The president agreed to this as well. In this regard, as far as we know, in accordance with the relatives’ request, he is now at home and recovering,” she said.
It should be recalled that Mikalai Statkevich was sentenced in 2021 in the “Tsikhanouski case” to 14 years in prison and was accused of organising mass riots. He spent a long period in the colony in incommunicado conditions.
Mikalai Statkevich was among 52 political prisoners released on September 11, 2025. All political prisoners were taken to Lithuania. However, Mikalai Statkevich refused to leave, ran out of the bus and remained on the territory of Belarus. He spent several hours between two border checkpoints, after which he was taken away by masked individuals.
Later, media outlets reported that Mikalai Statkevich was again being held in a prison in Hlybokaye, but this information was never officially confirmed. His wife, Maryna Adamovich, filed a missing person report with the police.
Yesterday, his wife reported his release. He is currently at home in Minsk. On January 21, he suffered a stroke and now has impaired speech.