#Lukashenko has denied there are #PoliticalPrisoners in #Belarus & described the people in question as "bandits". As recently as Aug, he asked why he should free people he sees as opponents of the state who might "again wage war against us"

#Trump has publicly described Lukashenko as "the highly respected president of Belarus", a description that jars with the opposition who see him as a #dictator. Yet, he has urged him to free up to 1,400 prisoners whom Trump described as "hostages".