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'The regime in Belarus is using political prisoners as pawns to maintain lucrative trade ties with the EU' (Photo: Amnesty International)

How Lukashenka is trying to outsmart the West, again

Europe’s last dictator, Alexander Lukashenka of Belarus, may have freed political prisoners Andrei Sannikov and Dmitry Bondarenko over Orthodox Easter but his actions are entirely disingenuous.

This “act of mercy” followed 16 months of torture and psychological harassment. Sannikov is a former presidential candidate and unless there is a change in the country, his conviction record will only clear in eight years.

This is a small victory. But charges remain against Sannikov and Bo...

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The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s, not those of EUobserver

Author Bio

Nikolaj joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.

'The regime in Belarus is using political prisoners as pawns to maintain lucrative trade ties with the EU' (Photo: Amnesty International)

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Author Bio

Nikolaj joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.

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