On Sunday, it was announced by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that an American woman, identified as Anastassia Nuhfer, has been released from detention in Belarus. This move comes amid an election in the country that is expected to secure yet another term for President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power for over thirty years and is commonly referred to as “Europe’s last dictator.”
According to Rubio’s statement on the social media platform X, Nuhfer had been detained during the administration of former President Joe Biden. However, details surrounding the exact timing and reasons for her detention remain unclear. This announcement coincides with a series of prisoner releases by Lukashenko, even as reports from Viasna, a prominent human rights organization in Belarus, continue to indicate that more than 1,250 individuals are still imprisoned for opposing the regime.
The current election in Belarus, condemned by many as illegitimate, follows a controversial election in 2020 that sparked extensive protests throughout the nation. Many dissenters, who now face imprisonment or exile, are speaking out against the electoral process, asserting that it is nothing more than a façade of democracy.
Later on Sunday, the U.S. State Department provided additional information, indicating that Nuhfer had been taken into custody in early December 2024. Notably, it was reported that recent access was granted to this American detainee by a consular official in Belarus, which is relatively rare.
A former high-ranking Belarusian diplomat revealed, though under conditions of anonymity for safety reasons, that Nuhfer’s arrest was associated with the protests that erupted in 2020. Reportedly, Lukashenko proposed her release as a “gesture of goodwill,” though he made no offers regarding the release of Belarusian opposition figures or rights activists.
Nuhfer’s unexpected release caught both the public and local activists off guard. Her name had not previously been disclosed nor did it appear on the lists of political prisoners available to the public. Pavel Sapelka of the Viasna rights group expressed surprise, noting that neither he nor his colleagues were aware of her situation or the details surrounding her arrest.
The Belarusian leader’s alliance with Russia, particularly regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, has considerably strained the country’s relations with both the U.S. and the European Union, dampening his previous tactics of leveraging Western relations for financial support from Russia.
However, Artyom Shraybman, an expert on Belarus at the Carnegie Russia and Eurasia Center, suggested that the government in Minsk may seek to reduce its reliance on Moscow following the election. He claims Lukashenko’s main objective is to utilize the election process as a means to validate his authority and reduce his political isolation, which may eventually lead to attempts to negotiate with the West for easing sanctions.
It remains uncertain what, if any, specific concessions the Belarusian government has sought in return for freeing Nuhfer.
