American Citizen And 2 Political Prisoners Released By Belarus

The Trump administration released a statement "welcoming" the release by Belarus of an American citizen, a Belarusian journalist and a member of an opposition party.

"President Trump's strong leadership has led to the release of an American unjustly detained in Belarus and two political prisoners. I want to particularly thank the Lithuanian government for its cooperation and assistance – they remain a true ally and friend," the State Department said in a release on Wednesday.

Also released were Andrey Kuznechyk, a journalist working for the Belarus service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, who had been convicted of being part of an "extremist group," and Alena Maushuk, convicted for participating in riots against the government, the Associated Press reported.

The American wasn't identified.

Chris Smith, the deputy assistant secretary of state for Eastern European affairs, said he was among the U.S. officials involved in a "special operation" in which they "crossed into the Belarusian frontier (and) went into Minsk to meet with Belarusian counterparts who brought these three detainees to us."

"They were handed over to us, and we brought them back out through Lithuania," he Smith said.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the opposition leader in exile, credited Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for the release, noting "the joint efforts that have made it possible," the AP reported.

It comes on the heels of Russia freeing American citizen Marc Fogel, a teacher held since 2021.

White House press secretary Karoline Levitt described the American's release from Belarus "a remarkable victory on the heels of Marc Fogel returning to America last night."

President Alexander Lukashenko, who extended his decades-long rule of Belarus in an election last month and is known as "Europe's last dictator," has pardoned more than 300 people since last July to ease tensions with the West, the Associated Press reported.

More than 60,000 people were arrested and many opposition members fled the country when Belarusian officials cracked down on protests over his election in 2020.