GENEVA, June 26, 2025 — Sergei Tikhanovsky, Belarus opposition leader and husband of President-elect Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, today addressed the UN Human Rights Council, days after his release from prison, where he had spent five years as a political prisoner under very difficult conditions.
Tikhanovsky was invited by Swiss human rights organization UN Watch, an accredited NGO with the United Nations that can participate in human rights debates at the world body.
“Today at the United Nations we heard Sergei Tikhanovsky’s voice, finally free, speaking directly to the international community for the first time since his release,” said Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch. Click here for text of the speech.
“This was a powerful moment, a direct challenge to the regimes that continue to silence their critics. United Nations Watch is proud to have provided him with this platform, and we expect this to send a clear message: the world is watching, and the fight for freedom in Belarus is alive.”
Tikhanovsky’s sudden release, alongside 13 other political prisoners, came as a result of U.S. diplomatic mediation spearheaded by the Trump administration. The United States Special Envoy to Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, met with Belarusian Dictator Alexander Lukashenko on the day of the release.
As a prominent activist, Tikhanovsky was arrested in 2020 after announcing his candidacy to challenge Lukashenko in Belarus’s presidential election. His detention and unjust imprisonment triggered large pro-democracy demonstrations in the country.
In his absence, his wife Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya stepped forward to run in his place, ultimately winning the election, only for her to be forced into exile by Lukashenko’s authoritarian regime.
“The repression continues. Journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens live in constant fear of Lukashenko’s security forces,” said Neuer.
“The same authoritarian playbook is used by Vladimir Putin in Russia, where dissent is criminalized, political opponents are jailed or worse, and the war on Ukraine is prosecuted with brutal disregard for life and freedom.”
“Tikhanovsky’s appearance marks a historic moment for the world. It sends a clear message: authoritarian regimes like the one he continues to bravely defy have no place in a free world.”
Tikhanovsky appealed to the world: “Now I want everyone to be free. More than 1000 people are still behind bars. We must fight for each and every one of them.”
