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Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna: Americans helped to secure the release of an Estonian citizen held as a political prisoner in Belarus

Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

21.06.2025 | 17:50

Today, on 21 June, Estonian citizen Allan Roio was released from a Belarusian prison with the help of the diplomatic efforts of the United States. Roio had been imprisoned since January 2024. The Belarusian regime suspected him of establishing an extremist organisation, and he was sentenced to six and a half years in prison along with a fine of nearly €6 000 euros.

According to Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, efforts to secure the release of the Estonian citizen lasted for nearly a year and a half. "In January 2024, we received information that the Belarusian authorities had detained an Estonian citizen in Minsk. Since then, the embassy and our diplomats have been in constant contact with Roio and his family. I would like to thank President Donald Trump, Keith Kellogg, the United States Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine, and his team, as well as all the US and Estonian diplomats and partners who worked determinedly and continuously to bring our citizen home," the minister said.

In September 2020, Allan Roio founded the NGO Fund of Belarusian Friends in Estonia, aimed at collecting donations for people fleeing the Belarusian regime. However, the NGO did not carry out any substantial activities and was removed from the business register a few months later. The NGO was established on Estonian territory in accordance with Estonian legislation.

Alongside Allan Roio, several other political prisoners were released, including Sergei Tikhanovsky, husband of Belarusian democratic opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who had been imprisoned since 2020. "This is a significant victory for the Belarusian opposition, but we must not forget that the current regime continues to hold thousands of political prisoners," Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said. "We call on the Belarusian regime to immediately and unconditionally end the repression of its people and to release all political prisoners."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly advises against travel to Belarus and urges Estonian citizens currently in the country for a short stay to consider the necessity of their stay and, if possible, return to Estonia.