Freed in Trump deal: Prisoners in exile tell of brutality behind bars in Belarus

They were freed in September under a deal between Belarus's authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko and US President Donald Trump.

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Instead she was bussed over the border from Belarus into Lithuania with 51 other political prisoners. They were released in September as part of a deal to relax sanctions hatched between Belarus's authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko and US President Donald Trump.

During the three years she spent behind bars for "extremism" and "discrediting" Belarus, Larysa Shchyrakova missed her mother's funeral. Now she cannot visit her grave.

She left behind her son, her home, her dog and all her possessions. Like most of the freed prisoners, Larysa has no documents, and risks arrest if she returns.

"You lose everything overnight. It's a traumatic thought that at 52, you're essentially homeless," she told the BBC.