Andrey Kuznechyk, a journalist for the Belarusian service of Radio Free Europe (RFE), has been released from a Belarusian prison after being detained for more than three years on charges that he, his employer, US officials and human rights organizations have called politically motivated.
The father-of-two's release on February 12 comes a day after the Trump administration secured the release of American teacher Mark Fogel from Russia, a key ally of Belarus.
"This is a joyous day for Andrey, his wife Alesya, and their two young children. After more than three years of separation, this family is together again thanks to President (Donald) Trump," RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said in a statement on February 12, highlighting the efforts of Secretary of State Marco Rubio "and his team," as well as the support of the Lithuanian government.
"We remain optimistic that our journalist Ihar Losik will also be released and we rely on the Trump administration for its continued leadership and guidance," Capus added, referring to another RFE/RL journalist currently detained in Belarus.
Kuznechyk was arrested on November 25, 2021, after four unidentified security agents followed him home, and was initially sentenced to 10 days in jail on hooliganism charges that he denied.
After serving that sentence, Kuznechyk was not released but was charged again, this time with allegedly creating an extremist group, which officials did not reveal to Kuznechyk's relatives and colleagues for months.
On June 8, 2022, the regional court in Mahilyow in the east of the country found Kuznechyk guilty and sentenced him to six years in prison after a trial that lasted just one day.
Human rights groups in Belarus have recognized Kuznechyk as a political prisoner, and his case is considered part of a broader campaign of repression against RFE/RL journalists and independent media in Belarus.
"Wonderful news," Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who was forced to leave Belarus with her children due to safety fears, said of Kuznechyk's release.
The crackdown came after the country was rocked by mass protests over a disputed 2020 presidential election, in which longtime authoritarian ruler Alexander Lukashenko won a sixth consecutive term. The opposition and Western governments say the election was rigged.
Last month, Belarusian state TV channel ONT aired several segments of a propaganda film about RFE/RL journalists held in Belarusian prisons, accusing them of "trying to set Belarus on fire."
The series, Svaboda Slova (Freedom of Speech), appears aimed at discrediting independent journalists who reported on government abuses and repression in Belarus just before the January 26 presidential election, which Lukashenko also won handily.
In the segment, Kuznechyk appears exhausted as he talks to one of the filmmakers in what appears to be a prison setting. Snow can be seen falling, with bars and prison walls in the background. The segment ends with footage of him being led away under guard.
Losik, as well as Ihar Karney, who previously wrote for RFE/RL – both of whom remain in prison in Belarus – were the focus of subsequent segments of the film.
Meanwhile, American citizen Anastasia Nuhfer was unilaterally released from a Belarusian prison on January 26th.
Details surrounding Nuhfer's detention remain unclear, and her name has not previously been in public discourse. Minsk has never revealed her name, and Washington does not release the names of Americans detained abroad without the consent of their families.
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