Another United States citizen, unfairly detained in a foreign prison, has been released – at least the 11th American who has regained his or her liberty since President Donald Trump assumed office in January.
The U.S. citizen, who has chosen to remain anonymous, and two other detainees were incarcerated in Belarus. Their release follows the Feb 12 release of American teacher Marc Fogel from a prison in Russia. Fogel was exchanged for a non-violent Russian criminal convicted in the U.S. for conspiring to commit money laundering.
According to U.S. Envoy for Hostages Adam Boehler, one of the three prisoners released from Belarus was Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Andrey Kuznechyk, who had been imprisoned in Belarus for over three years on trumped-up charges.
Belarus, a close ally of Russia, has one of the most repressive governments in the world, with more than 1200 political prisoners.
Ambassador Boehler said the release of the prisoners from Belarus was “unilateral,” meaning nothing was given in exchange. He credited the success of the release to President Trump: “He’s made bringing Americans home a top priority and people respond to that. And so, I think when you see the president of Belarus doing that…it's definitely somebody trying to change the tone with the administration, knowing that the president of the United States cares about getting citizens back.”
Ambassador Boehler said, “The smartest countries are unilaterally stepping forward, and we don’t even ask, or we say this would be interesting, and they come up with it. … The smartest thing you can do to curry favor with the president of the United States is bring Americans home. He’s been clear about that.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the successful release of the detainees from Belarus “a remarkable victory” and credited it to President Trump’s “deal-making ability.”
With the help of the Lithuanian Government, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Chris Smith met the detainees in Belarus and brought them into Lithuania. He called their release “[a] huge win — and a response to President Trump’s Peace through Strength agenda.”
In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio thanked Lithuania for its assistance and declared, “We remain committed to the release of other U.S. citizens in Belarus and elsewhere.” He added, “We call for the release of nearly 1300 political prisoners who remain in jail across Belarus.”
