Belarus has freed Siarhei Tsikhanouski, a key dissident figure and the husband of exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, following a rare visit by a senior U.S. official.

Belarus has freed Siarhei Tsikhanouski, a key dissident and the husband of exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and 13 others following a rare visit by a senior U.S. official.

The country’s authoritarian regime continues to hold more than 1,100 political prisoners in abusive conditions.