Open Appeal from Nobel Laureates to U.S. President Donald Trump and World Leaders
On the Release of Political Prisoners in Belarus and the Return of Exiles
We, the undersigned Nobel Laureates, express our deep gratitude to U.S. President Donald Trump for his attention to earlier appeals regarding the situation in Belarus. Your personal involvement has already given hope to more than 1,300 people imprisoned for their political or religious beliefs.
Today, Belarus faces not only the tragedy of prisoners of conscience but also one of the largest forced exoduses in Europe. More than half a million Belarusians, an extraordinary figure in a country of just nine million have been driven into exile. Families have been separated, communities destroyed, and an entire generation of citizens deprived of the right to live in their homeland. This displacement, together with the ongoing repression, constitutes a profound humanitarian crisis at the very heart of Europe.
We respectfully urge you to continue your active efforts to secure the immediate release of all prisoners of conscience in Belarus. Their freedom will not only restore justice to individuals but also open the path toward reconciliation and dialogue.
We further call for an end to politically motivated prosecutions. Closing these cases will create the conditions for the safe and dignified return of hundreds of thousands of exiled citizens, enabling them once again to contribute to the life of their country.
We firmly believe that social disagreements must be resolved through respect for human rights and open dialogue not through violence and repression.
We also express our gratitude to the activists of the Belarus Democratic Forum and participants in the civil initiative "Ultimatum" who have worked tirelessly to keep this issue on the global agenda.
Finally, we appeal to world leaders, public figures, and opinion shapers everywhere to join President Trump’s efforts and work together for the release of all prisoners of conscience and the safe return of exiled Belarusians. Only through united international action can justice and peace be restored.
August 19, 2025
Signatures:
Nobel Prize in Literature
- Svetlana Alexievich, Belarus, 2015. Awarded for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time.
- Herta Müller, Germany, 2009. Awarded for her work that, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed.
Nobel Peace Prize
- Oscar Arias, Nobel Peace Prize (1987), President of Costa Rica (1986–1990, 2006–2010). Awarded for his efforts to bring peace to Central America through the Esquipulas Peace Agreement, which laid the foundation for ending civil wars in the region.
- Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize (1997), USA. Awarded for her work to ban and clear anti-personnel landmines through the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), which led to the Ottawa Treaty.
- Dmitry Muratov, Nobel Peace Prize (2021), Russia. Awarded for his efforts to safeguard freedom of expression in Russia as the editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, a newspaper known for investigative journalism and independent reporting.
Nobel Prize in Physics
- Brian Josephson, United Kingdom, 1973. Awarded for his theoretical predictions of the properties of a supercurrent through a tunnel barrier, in particular the Josephson effects.
- Sheldon Lee Glashow, Nobel Prize in Physics (1979), USA. Awarded for his contributions to the theory of the unified weak and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles, including the prediction of the weak neutral current.
- Jerome I. Friedman, Nobel Prize in Physics (1990), USA. Awarded for his pioneering work in deep inelastic scattering of electrons on protons and bound neutrons, providing evidence for the existence of quarks.
- William D. Phillips, USA, 1997. Awarded for developing methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light, enabling ultra-cold atomic physics.
- Gerard 't Hooft, Netherlands, 1999. Awarded for elucidating the quantum structure of electroweak interactions in physics.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Jean-Marie Lehn, France, 1987. Awarded for his development and use of molecules with structure-specific interactions of high selectivity—foundational work in supramolecular chemistry.
- Elias James Corey, USA, 1990. Awarded for developing the theory and methodology of organic synthesis.
- Roger D. Kornberg, USA, 2006. Awarded for studies of the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription, revealing how genetic information is copied and transcribed.
- Joachim Frank, Germany/USA, 2017. Awarded for developing cryo-electron microscopy for high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution.
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Harold Varmus, USA, 1989. Awarded for the co-discovery of cellular genes that are progenitors of retroviral oncogenes, leading to the development of targeted cancer therapies.
- Sir Richard J. Roberts, UK, 1993. Awarded for the discovery that genes in eukaryotes are split, fundamentally transforming molecular biology.
- Louis J. Ignarro, USA, 1998. Awarded for his discoveries concerning nitric oxide as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system.
- Barry Marshall, Australia, 2005. Awarded for the discovery of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and its role in the development of peptic ulcer disease.
- Jules A. Hoffmann, France/Luxembourg, 2011. Awarded for discoveries concerning the activation of innate immunity, which transformed the understanding of how organisms defend themselves against infection.
- Sir Michael Houghton, UK/Canada, 2020. Awarded for co-discovering the Hepatitis C virus, paving the way for life-saving blood screening and treatments.
- Harvey J. Alter, USA, 2020. Awarded for discovering the Hepatitis C virus, which enabled diagnostic tests and treatments that have saved millions.
- Drew Weissman, USA, 2023. Awarded for discoveries of nucleoside base modifications that enabled effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.
Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences
- Sir Christopher Pissarides, Cyprus/UK, 2010. Awarded for his analysis of markets with search frictions.
According to the latest data, the appeal was signed by 23 Nobel Prize winners. The list will be updated.