UK-Belarus dual citizen Julia Fenner, the wife of a British diplomat, has been freed from prison by Belarus as part of a broader release agreed with the US.
She had been given a long jail term last month after being detained on the border as she entered Belarus in March 2024.
UK Europe Minister Stephen Doughty said it is great news that a British national has been brought home.
Fifty-two prisoners were freed from Belarus on Thursday as part of an agreement between US President Donald Trump and authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
In exchange for the release of political prisoners, the US said it would relieve some sanctions on Belarusian airline Belavia, allowing the carrier to buy parts for its planes.
Stephen Doughty called the release a significant breakthrough and thanked the US for substantial diplomatic efforts to secure this outcome.
The prisoners released included trade union leaders, journalists and activists, though more than 1,000 political prisoners remain in jail in Belarus.
Julia Fenner had previously worked at the British embassy in Minsk before marrying British diplomat Martin Fenner. According to human rights group Charter 97, Martin Fenner was the deputy head of mission in Minsk for four years in the early 2000s.
Another rights group, Spring 96, recognized Mrs. Fenner as a political prisoner who had been imprisoned in a penal colony.
Although the reason for Belarus charging her was never explained, she was accused under two articles of the criminal code for active participation in actions that grossly violate public order and assistance to extremist activity.
All opposition has been quashed by authoritarian leader Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994.
Lukashenko described the release of the prisoners as a humanitarian gesture after meeting with Donald Trump's special envoy in Minsk.
Belarus's exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya expressed gratitude to the US president for securing the prisoners' release, but warned that true freedom was yet to be achieved.
The release of the 52 prisoners is a step in the right direction, according to Tikhanovskaya, but she remains concerned about the fate of those still imprisoned, including veteran dissident Mikola Statkevich.
Statkevich, who had stood against Lukashenko in the 2010 presidential elections, chose not to leave Belarus during the release process.
Many of the political prisoners in Belarus were detained following a brutal crackdown on protests in 2020 against a presidential election widely regarded as rigged.
Lukashenko has maintained a close relationship with Putin, which has included military cooperation amidst rising tensions in the region.
