April 30, Pozirk. Belarus has released Juraś Ziankovič, CNN reported, quoting a US official.
Ziankovič was arrested in Moscow in 2021 and then transferred to Minsk, where he was accused of being part of a supposed US-backed conspiracy against Alaksandar Łukašenka.
There was no prisoner exchange that led to the lawyer’s release.
Once free, he was taken to neighboring Lithuania by a team of US officials.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has confirmed the news, without naming Ziankovič.
The lawyer’s wife, Alena Dzienisaviec, thanked Rubio, US President Donald Trump, his special envoy for hostage affairs and others for the release.
The Minsk Regional Court in September 2022 sentenced Ziankovič to 11 years in prison after finding him guilty of conspiracy to overthrow the government, forming an extremist group and incitement to hatred.
In December 2022, he was reportedly tried in the Minsk region’s Miadziel district for insulting a state servant. The judge added six months to his sentence.
During Trump’s first term, the United States sought to improve diplomatic relations with Minsk, but those efforts were put on hold after Łukašenka declared himself the winner of the 2020 election.
He also cracked down hard on protesters and civil society, drawing criticism from the Trump administration.
