“They treated me very badly.” Estonian citizen Alan Royo was released along with a group of 14 political prisoners pardoned by Alyaksandr Lukashenka after talks with U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg. Royo was greeted at Tallinn airport by his relatives and Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna. An ambulance was also called because Royo complained of severe back pain and was immediately given medical attention. The Estonian newspaper Postimees writes that he looked exhausted but moved, unable to hold back his tears. He had been imprisoned in Belarus since January 2024. He was accused of creating an “extremist formation” and sentenced to 6.5 years in prison and a huge fine. Royo worked for the Fund of Belarusian Friends, helping repressed Belarusians and their families. After returning home, he said: He was referring to the situation of the families of political prisoners. Royo said that he himself is a father and his wife is Belarusian, so he felt compelled to help other families in Belarus in need. Before the regime discovered the links between the foundation and those being persecuted, Royo's wife managed to alert the banks and the accounts were frozen. Lukashenka's services have no access to the money. Royo also said that he was held in harsh conditions in prison and assured that his life's goal would be to tell the world, including investigators and human rights organizations, what happened to him and what Lukashenka's political prisoners and people living in Belarus in general have to go through. He expressed special thanks to the head of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He said that “if it weren't for you, I would probably still be there today.” The minister replied that diplomatic efforts to secure the release of the Estonian citizen had been ongoing for almost a year and a half, since Tallinn received information in January 2024 that its citizen had been detained in Minsk. Since then, the embassy had been in constant contact with him and his family. The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs again urged its citizens not to travel to Belarus. Raman Shavel, MaH/belsat.eu according to Postimees, own information