Political prisoner of Estonian nationality released from Belarusian prison with US help

TALLINN – With the help of the diplomatic forces of the United States, Estonian citizen Allan Roio, who had been in captivity since January of last year, was released from a Belarusian prison on Saturday, spokespeople for the Foreign Ministry said.

The Belarusian regime suspected Roio of creating an extremist organization, and the court sentenced him to six and a half years in prison and a fine of nearly 6,000 euros. According to Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, efforts to free the Estonian citizen lasted nearly a year and a half.

"In January 2024, we received information that the Belarusian authorities had detained an Estonian citizen in Minsk. Since then, the embassy and diplomats have been in constant contact with Roio and his family. I thank US President Donald Trump, Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg and his team, and all US and Estonian diplomats and partners who worked purposefully and consistently to ensure that our citizen could return home," Tsahkna said.

In September 2020, Roio created the NGO Fund of Belarusian Friends in Estonia, which aimed to collect donations for people who had fled the Belarusian regime. The NGO created by Roio did not do any substantive work and was deleted from the Commercial Register a few months later. The NGO was established on Estonian territory, in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Estonia.

Along with Allan Roio, other political prisoners also released included Syarhey Tsikhanouski, the husband of the leader of the Belarusian democratic opposition, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who had been in captivity since 2020.

"This is a very important victory for the Belarusian opposition, but we must not forget that the current regime is still keeping thousands of political prisoners imprisoned," Tsahkna said. "We call on the Belarusian regime to immediately and unconditionally end the repression of its people and release all political prisoners."

The Foreign Ministry strongly recommends avoiding travel to Belarus and calls on Estonian citizens staying there on a short-term basis to assess the necessity of their stay and, if possible, return to Estonia.