Gazeta Wyborcza says Belarus freed 15 prisoners in return for eased US sanctions; The Independent does not mention sanctions and says 883 are still held

What both say. Belarus released 15 prisoners on Thursday 24 September after talks with Washington. Neither report names any of the 15.

Where they part. Each report tells a different story about the release.

The trade. Gazeta Wyborcza states the sanctions offer as fact and does not say who described it. No other report we hold confirms it. The Independent ties the release only to "talks with US envoy".

The count. The Independent says the banned rights group Viasna counts 883 political prisoners still held. No other report gives a figure.

What is not settled - Which sanctions would be eased, and on what schedule. Neither report says. - Whether Washington has confirmed any offer. We hold no US statement. - Who the 15 are. Neither report names them. - For Gazeta Wyborcza, we hold only the opening lines of the report.

What this is about. The United States and Belarus are negotiating over political prisoners. Belarus releases people it has jailed, and US economic sanctions on Belarus are at stake.

How it got here. Alexander Lukashenko has been president of Belarus since 1994. In August 2020 he was declared the winner of an election that the opposition and Western governments called rigged. Months of mass protests followed. The authorities answered with mass arrests, and opposition leaders were jailed or went into exile. The United States and the European Union imposed sanctions in response. In May 2021 Belarus forced a Ryanair flight to land in Minsk and arrested a journalist on board, and more sanctions followed. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, some of its troops crossed from Belarusian territory. Western governments then widened the sanctions to cover large parts of the Belarusian economy. In 2025, after visits by US envoys, Minsk freed several groups of prisoners. One of them was the opposition figure Siarhei Tsikhanouski. Washington eased some restrictions in return, including those on the state airline Belavia.

The actors. Lukashenko holds the power to pardon, and he is using releases to push for sanctions relief. Washington uses the sanctions as leverage and has sent envoys to Minsk. Viasna is a Belarusian human rights group that keeps a register of political prisoners. Its founder, Ales Bialiatski, shared the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. The Belarusian authorities have banned the group.

What is at stake. For Minsk: access to US markets, finance and aircraft parts. For the prisoners and their families: freedom, one group at a time. Critics of these deals say that each release can be followed by new arrests. That argument is disputed, and neither report makes it.

Where it stands. Fifteen people were freed on 24 September. According to Viasna, as reported by The Independent, 883 are still held.