He walked slowly through the streets of Vilnius, visibly weakened but smiling, a hat on his head and a plastic bag of medicine in hand. Ales Bialiatski, co-recipient of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, had just enough time to stop by the pharmacy between a series of appointments in the Lithuanian capital. Since his release by the Minsk regime on Saturday, December 13, and his expulsion to Lithuania, the 63-year-old Belarusian human rights activist has been overwhelmed with requests. Those close to him and his supporters, who had feared they might never see him alive again, all wanted to embrace him. It was dizzying for the former political prisoner after four and a half years in Belarusian prisons, isolated from everything.

“I am overwhelmed with emotion,” he told Le Monde four days after his release, settling onto the sofa in their temporary accommodation with his wife, Natalia Pinchuk. He had not seen her since a brief visit while in detention three years earlier. “For years, I lived in a very harsh environment, and suddenly, I can finally see my wife, my friends, my family… It’s very exciting for me!” The return to freedom was both a shock and a delight. “It’s like having sat for a long time in a dark, freezing place, and suddenly stepping out into dazzling sunlight and green grass. I am slowly getting used to it, but it takes time. I have flashbacks; I am still halfway back there.”

You have 75.26% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.