Lower thirds:

00:02 Report by Sergei Satanovskii
00:17 Siarhei Tsikhanouski | Belarusian opposition figure
01:03 Siarhei Tsikhanouski | Belarusian opposition figure
02:03 Keith Kellogg | US president's special envoy | 21.06.2025 | Minsk
02:39 Aliaksandr Klaskouski | Political analyst
03:17 Siarhei Tsikhanouski | Belarusian opposition figure

 00:00
Emotional scenes of Belarusian opposition figure Siarhei Tsikhanouski reuniting with his wife, Sviatlana. 
After five years in prison, he broke down when we asked him about seeing his children again.  

00:15
+++SOT+++ Siarhei Tsikhanouski Belarusian opposition figure 
" My daughter didn’t know I was coming. My wife said, ‘Look who’s here.’ She didn’t recognize me at all at first. Then she ran up and hugged me. I still haven’t recovered from that moment. "
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00:48

Tsikhanouski looks very different after his time in prison. Here he is five years ago, before his sentence, in an interview with Deutsche Welle. 
He says he lost a lot of weight because of the tough conditions behind bars. 

01:02
+++SOT+++ Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Belarusian opposition figure 
" KGB agents told me my medical file was this thick. When a person isn’t eating, when there’s no medical care, and they’re under constant psychological and physical pressure — of course there’s going to be a whole range of problems and illnesses. '"
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01:18
Tsikhanouski is a Belarusian opposition politician who ran a video blog called A Country for Life. 
In his livestreams, he spoke out against corruption and dictatorship in Belarus. 

01:29
At the height of his popularity, he decided to run for president in the 2020 election. 
He was barred from registering as a candidate, but the authorities allowed his wife, Sviatlana, to be on the ballot instead. 

01:43
While she was running her campaign, Sergei was sentenced to nearly 18 years in prison on charges of inciting mass unrest. 

01:51
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko released Tsikhanouski and 13 other political prisoners last Saturday - after a meeting with US President Donald Trump's envoy Keith Kellogg. 

02:02
+++SOT+++ June, 21, Minsk  Keith Kellogg, US president's special envoy 
"We really appreciate the hospitality and the invite. We live in very very perilous times. And the constant concern that we have is a crisis that could escalate and grow if we're not really cautious and wise."
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02:23
Belarus has been isolated from the international community for years. Analysts say the prisoner release may have been Lukashenko's price for securing a meeting with high-ranking US officials. 

02:35
+++SOT+++  Aliaksandr Klaskouski Political analyst 
"At this early stage, Lukashenko can already be quite satisfied with the level of his dialogue partners. As it turns out, since the beginning of the year, senior American diplomats have come to Minsk several times to pick up political prisoners. And now, just days ago, General Kellogg himself - Trump’s special envoy on Ukraine - showed up. Minsk hasn’t seen US officials of this rank in the past five years." 
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03:04
Tikhanovsky is not yet certain about his political future. 
He says his immediate goal is to fight for the release of the remaining political prisoners still held in Belarusian jails. 

03:15
+++SOT+++ Siarhei Tsikhanouski 
"Americans should prepare a new sanctions package - not to impose it immediately, but to present it to Lukashenko with a clear message: it will be enforced if he fails to release the political prisoners" 
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03:32
Human rights groups say more than a thousand political prisoners are still jailed in Belarus. 
All potential bargaining chips for Alexander Lukashenko. 
END