Swedish Halina has landed at Arlanda – released from Belarus
Swedish Halina Krasnjanskaja, 68, has landed at Arlanda after being released from a Belarusian prison.
– Thank you, thank you, she says.
Halina Krasnjanskaya was arrested in Belarus in 2023 and sentenced to five years in prison last year. She was released on Saturday. She was one of 14 political prisoners, several of whom were foreign nationals, who were released by the dictatorship’s regime.
Afterwards, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) thanked US President Donald Trump for his help in bringing Halina home.
“It shows the importance of the US’s commitment to our region. The pressure on Belarus must continue until all political prisoners are free,” the prime minister wrote on X.
“It shows the importance of the US commitment to our region. The pressure on Belarus must continue until all political prisoners are free”
Halina: “A great job”
On Sunday, Halina was flown to Sweden. She landed at Arlanda just after 6 p.m.
Happy to be home, she thanked, laughed, and hugged those who had gathered to welcome her.
– Thank you, thank you, says Halina and continues:
– Just thank you very much. Sweden, the Swedish government and the embassy in Belarus and the Americans – they have done a great job.
“Celebrating already”
Dmitri Vasserman, at the Belarusian People’s Embassy in Sweden, was one of those who met Halina at Arlanda. When asked how they will celebrate their homecoming, he says:
– We are already celebrating – that’s why we are here. I don’t think we will celebrate anything ourselves. But we will certainly celebrate Halina in the long run.
He describes the prison Halina was imprisoned in as a “torture prison.” The near future will be a lot about healing, he believes.
– It feels amazing that she has finally come home. In her case, that she has really come home to Sweden. That is something that we cannot say about all the other prisoners who were released. They say that they were released freely, but in reality it is forced deportation. They were deported from Belarus, they cannot come home. They were forced out of the country.
