WASHINGTON — A journalist with VOA’s sister outlet, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was released from Belarus on Wednesday, after spending more than three years imprisoned in a case that was widely viewed as politically motivated.
Andrey Kuznechyk, a journalist with RFE/RL’s Belarus service, was released from Belarus on Wednesday, the U.S. special envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, said. Two other individuals were also released, including a U.S. citizen, but Boehler did not specify their identities.
RFE/RL President Stephen Capus welcomed Kuznechyk’s release and thanked President Donald Trump, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Lithuanian government for their help in securing the reporter’s release.
“This is a joyous day for Andrey, his wife, and their two young children. After more than three years apart, this family is together again thanks to President Trump. We are also grateful to Secretary Rubio and his team, and to the Lithuanian government for their support,” Capus said in a statement.
Boehler said that the release was unilateral, meaning no one was swapped with Belarus in exchange for the prisoners. Boehler attributed the release to Trump’s commitment to securing the freedom of wrongfully detailed Americans abroad.
“He has made bringing Americans home a top priority,” Boehler said. “The smartest thing you can do to curry favor with the president of the United States is bring Americans home.”
Kuznechyk had been jailed since November 2021. He was initially sentenced to 10 days in jail on hooliganism charges, which he rejected. When Kuznechyk was due to be released, authorities kept him in prison and added an additional charge of creating an extremist group.
In a trial that lasted only one day, a regional court found Kuznechyk guilty in June 2022 and sentenced him to six years in prison.
RFE/RL and the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees RFE/RL and VOA, consistently rejected the charges against Kuznechyk and called for his release.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the prisoners’ release from Belarus “a remarkable victory.”
Natalia Belikova, head of international cooperation at Press Club Belarus, celebrated the news of Kuznechyk’s release.
“I could hardly believe it,” Belikova told VOA.
It’s rare for journalists to be released early from prison in Belarus, according to Belikova.
“My joy at Andrey’s release is marred by the fact that 40 journalists are still behind bars in Belarus, many serving lengthy sentences,” she added. “Everyone, no matter where they live, should have the right to speak freely.”
Belarus ranks among the worst jailers of journalists in the world, with the Belarusian Association of Journalists counting 40 behind bars.
Another RFE/RL journalist — Ihar Losik — has been jailed in Belarus since 2020 on charges he and his employer reject.
“We remain hopeful that our journalist Ihar Losik will also be released and look to the Trump administration for its continued leadership and guidance,” Capus said in a statement.
Three other RFE/RL journalists are currently jailed in Russian-occupied Crimea, Russia and Azerbaijan, all on charges that are viewed as politically motivated.
The Belarusian government has embarked on a severe crackdown on independent journalists and other critics ever since longtime President Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory in a 2020 presidential election that was widely viewed as rigged.
More than 1,200 political prisoners are currently detained in Belarus, according to the rights group Viasna.
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