TALLINN, Estonia — A U.S. national detained in Belarus on allegations of plotting against the country’s leader has been released. Authorities in Belarus had previously charged Youras Ziankovich, a lawyer holding both Belarusian and U.S. citizenship, with planning a coup against President Alexander Lukashenko. Convicted on various charges, including assassination plots and rebellion, Ziankovich was sentenced in September 2022 to 11 years in prison. This sentence was extended by six months later, and in August 2024, he received an additional two-year sentence due to claims of “malicious disobedience to the prison administration,” culminating in a total term of 13 1/2 years.
The U.S. Department identified Ziankovich on Wednesday, though his name appears differently in multiple reports, sometimes as Yuras Zyankovich. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had previously stated that Ziankovich was wrongfully detained this February, announced his imminent return to the United States. Rubio also expressed gratitude towards Lithuania, appreciating their support in efforts to bring the American home. He also acknowledged Lukashenko’s decision as a “humanitarian gesture.”
Ziankovich’s arrest took place in Russia in April 2021, alongside Alexander Feduta, previously a spokesman for Lukashenko but who later joined the opposition. At that time, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) asserted without evidence that Ziankovich and Feduta met opposition-minded Belarusian generals in Moscow to plan a military coup.
In 2020, Belarus was the scene of unprecedented protests after an election that controversially extended Lukashenko’s presidency for a sixth term. Both the opposition and various Western countries deemed this election fraudulent. These protests met with a severe government crackdown, leading to the arrest of approximately 65,000 individuals, while hundreds of thousands fled the nation, according to Viasna, Belarus’s leading human rights group.
Pavel Sapelka, a human rights activist with Viasna, remarked that Ziankovich faced “constant and harsh pressure from the authorities” during his incarceration, noting his significant weight loss due to dire prison conditions. Despite these circumstances, Belarusian authorities have shown leniency in other instances, with Lukashenko pardoning approximately 250 political prisoners within the past year, including the release of another American in February.
Nonetheless, Viasna reports that around 1,200 political prisoners are still incarcerated in Belarus.