An American citizen convicted of plotting against Belarus' president is now free after years behind bars on charges the US government dismissed as fabricated. Belarus on Wednesday released Youras Ziankovich, who was convicted of plotting a coup and the assassination of President Alexander Lukashenko, the AP reports. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the announcement in Washington, praising "Lukashenko's humanitarian gesture." Lithuanian officials have been "incredible allies," Rubio said, "supportive of our efforts these past few months to bring Americans home."
Ziankovich, a lawyer with dual Belarusian and US citizenship, was arrested in Russia in April 2021 along with Alexander Feduta, a former spokesman for Lukashenko who later joined the opposition. Russia's Federal Security Service said the two went to Moscow to meet with opposition-minded Belarusian generals and were plotting a military coup but provided no evidence for the claims. Ziankovich was sentenced to 11 years in prison in September 2022, with another 2½ years later added. The US government identified him as Youras Ziankovich on Wednesday, though previous reports have called him Yuras Zyankovich.
Pavel Sapelka, a rights advocate with Viasna, a Belarusian human rights group, told the AP on Wednesday that Ziankovich has been "under constant and harsh pressure from the authorities" in prison and lost a lot of weight in the harsh conditions. Viasna says some 1,200 political prisoners remain behind bars in Belarus. "I knew this day would come," said Alena Dzenisavets, Ziankovich's wife, per CNN. "It took 1,480 days, but he survived and is on his way home to me and to America."
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