In a significant development, Andrei Hniot, a prominent Belarusian filmmaker and dissident, has been released from detention in Serbia after spending one year there amid Belarus’s attempts to extradite him. Hniot confirmed to various media outlets that he was freed from house arrest on Thursday, marking exactly twelve months since his initial detention. According to his attorney, Filip Sofijanic, Serbian law mandates that pre-extradition detention cannot exceed one year.
The Belarusian government had issued an international warrant for Hniot, accusing him of tax evasion, allegations he vehemently disputes. As a vocal opponent of the authoritarian regime led by President Alexander Lukashenko, Hniot participated in the massive protests in 2020 sparked by a controversial presidential election that resulted in Lukashenko obtaining a sixth consecutive term in power.
The crackdown on dissent during these protests has been severe and ongoing, with more than 65,000 individuals arrested in connection with anti-government activities. Many of the country’s leading opposition figures are now either imprisoned or have fled Belarus to escape persecution.
Following his release, Hniot reported that there were no issues as he departed Serbia. He expressed a sense of relief upon arriving in Berlin, stating, “I can finally breathe and start to process the reality that this harrowing year is now behind me.”
Prior to Hniot’s release, numerous Belarusian opposition activists and advocates living in exile had campaigned for his freedom. Among them, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who was compelled to leave Belarus after challenging Lukashenko in the 2020 election, remarked that both the German Foreign Ministry and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen lent their support to the efforts aimed at securing Hniot’s liberation.
According to the Belarusian human rights organization Viasna, there are currently approximately 1,300 political prisoners in Belarus, which includes the organization’s co-founder, Ales Bialiatski, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.