{"id":126085,"date":"2025-02-12T21:34:59","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T18:34:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","slug":"regime-frees-kuzniecyk-mausuk-unnamed-us-citizen","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarus frees RFE\/RL journalist, unnamed US citizen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"block-image block-image-normal\">\n\n  <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1131\" height=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/kuznechik-tin.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/kuznechik-tin.jpg 1131w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/kuznechik-tin-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/kuznechik-tin-734x488.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/kuznechik-tin-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/kuznechik-tin-768x511.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1131px) 100vw, 1131px\" \/>\n  <figcaption>\n  \n       <div class=\"block-image__author\">\n                <span>(\u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s Telegram channel)<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n     <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>February 12, <em>Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Belarusian authorities have released former RFE\/RL journalist Andrej Ku\u017anie\u010dyk, protester Alena Ma\u016d\u0161uk and \u201ca US citizen whose name has not been disclosed so far,\u201d opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja said on Telegram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cRepresentatives of the US Embassy are helping them, and members of my Office and Cabinet are taking Alena Ma\u016d\u0161uk to a safe place, where she will receive all the necessary assistance,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cichano\u016dskaja thanked US President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the State Department for the \u201cjoint efforts that made this possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The unnamed US citizen may be lawyer Jura\u015b Ziankovi\u010d. The release may have been&nbsp;part of a US-Russian prisoner swap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ma\u016d\u0161uk was detained on August 10, 2020. In April 2021, a district court in Brest found her guilty of rioting and sentenced her to six years in prison. According to human rights activists, she had serious health problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>RFE\/RL<\/em> freelancer Ku\u017anie\u010dyk was detained on November 25, 2021. In June 2022, the Mahilo\u016d Regional Court sentenced him to six years in prison on an extremism charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Barys Harecki, deputy chairman of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, has welcomed Ku\u017anie\u010dyk\u2019s release. \u201cBut the most important thing is that 40 more Belarusian journalists, our colleagues, remain behind bars. It is crucial to not forget about them and to continue seeking their release,\u201d Harecki told <em>Pozirk<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"insert-block\">\n\n    <div class=\"insert-block__img\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"354\" height=\"236\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/rodionova-fb_1128x752-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/rodionova-fb_1128x752-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/rodionova-fb_1128x752-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/rodionova-fb_1128x752-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/rodionova-fb_1128x752-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/rodionova-fb_1128x752.jpg 1128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/>                        <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> Politics<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">Politics<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Supreme Court upholds four-year sentence for journalist Radzivonava<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">February 10, Pozirk. The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a four-year prison sentence for journalist Volha Radzivonava, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) has reported. In December, Radzivonava was sentenced for cooperating with the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung. The prosecutor &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/125727\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read the article<\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>February 12, Pozirk. Belarusian authorities have released former RFE\/RL journalist Andrej Ku\u017anie\u010dyk, protester Alena Ma\u016d\u0161uk and \u201ca US citizen whose name has not been disclosed so far,\u201d opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja said on Telegram. \u201cRepresentatives of the US Embassy are helping them, and members of my Office and Cabinet are taking Alena Ma\u016d\u0161uk to a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":126072,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-126085","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Belarus frees RFE\/RL journalist, unnamed US citizen | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"February 12, Pozirk. Belarusian authorities have released former RFE\/RL journalist Andrej Ku\u017anie\u010dyk, protester Alena Ma\u016d\u0161uk and \u201ca US citizen whose name\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Belarus frees RFE\/RL journalist, unnamed US citizen | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"February 12, Pozirk. Belarusian authorities have released former RFE\/RL journalist Andrej Ku\u017anie\u010dyk, protester Alena Ma\u016d\u0161uk and \u201ca US citizen whose name\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-24T20:40:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/kuznechik-tin.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1131\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"752\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/\"},\"headline\":\"Belarus frees RFE\/RL journalist, unnamed US citizen\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-12T18:34:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-24T20:40:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/\"},\"wordCount\":238,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/kuznechik-tin.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/\",\"name\":\"Belarus frees RFE\/RL journalist, unnamed US citizen | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/kuznechik-tin.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-12T18:34:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-24T20:40:57+00:00\",\"description\":\"February 12, Pozirk. Belarusian authorities have released former RFE\/RL journalist Andrej Ku\u017anie\u010dyk, protester Alena Ma\u016d\u0161uk and \u201ca US citizen whose name\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/kuznechik-tin.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/kuznechik-tin.jpg\",\"width\":1131,\"height\":752},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Belarus frees RFE\/RL journalist, unnamed US citizen\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Pozirk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Belarus frees RFE\/RL journalist, unnamed US citizen | Pozirk","description":"February 12, Pozirk. Belarusian authorities have released former RFE\/RL journalist Andrej Ku\u017anie\u010dyk, protester Alena Ma\u016d\u0161uk and \u201ca US citizen whose name","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Belarus frees RFE\/RL journalist, unnamed US citizen | Pozirk","og_description":"February 12, Pozirk. Belarusian authorities have released former RFE\/RL journalist Andrej Ku\u017anie\u010dyk, protester Alena Ma\u016d\u0161uk and \u201ca US citizen whose name","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/","og_site_name":"Pozirk","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","article_modified_time":"2026-02-24T20:40:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1131,"height":752,"url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/kuznechik-tin.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Pozirk_online","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/"},"headline":"Belarus frees RFE\/RL journalist, unnamed US citizen","datePublished":"2025-02-12T18:34:59+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-24T20:40:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/"},"wordCount":238,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/kuznechik-tin.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/","name":"Belarus frees RFE\/RL journalist, unnamed US citizen | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/kuznechik-tin.jpg","datePublished":"2025-02-12T18:34:59+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-24T20:40:57+00:00","description":"February 12, Pozirk. Belarusian authorities have released former RFE\/RL journalist Andrej Ku\u017anie\u010dyk, protester Alena Ma\u016d\u0161uk and \u201ca US citizen whose name","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/kuznechik-tin.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/kuznechik-tin.jpg","width":1131,"height":752},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/126085\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Belarus frees RFE\/RL journalist, unnamed US citizen"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","name":"Pozirk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization","name":"Pozirk","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Pozirk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/126085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=126085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}