The White House announced on Wednesday (February 12) that Belarus has released three detainees, including an American citizen.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated, “We can confirm that one American and two Belarusians have been safely released.”
Leavitt did not disclose the names of the released individuals.
A senior official at the U.S. State Department told CNN that an American citizen was released from a Belarusian prison on Wednesday. Due to the individual’s request for privacy, their name has not been disclosed. They are one of the three political prisoners who were released. The other two political prisoners are Andrei Kuznechyk and Alina Maushuk. Kuznechyk works for the U.S.-backed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
“This was a special operation. We just crossed the border into Belarus, met with our Belarusian counterparts in Minsk, and they handed over these three detainees to us. After they were transferred to us, we brought them back via Lithuania,” said Chris Smith, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs at the U.S. State Department responsible for Belarus affairs, in an interview with CNN.
Smith said that this was a “unilateral action” by Belarusian authorities. He added, “They are seeking to improve relations with us. They are making a wise choice by releasing these Americans and other political prisoners in order to engage in political dialogue with us.”
Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya thanked U.S. President Trump, Secretary of State Pompeo, and the U.S. State Department for their “joint efforts to achieve this goal.”
The American citizen who was released on Wednesday was arrested in Belarus in September 2024. He is the second American citizen released by Belarus since President Trump took office. The first was Anastassia Nuhfer, who was arrested in December 2024 and released shortly after Trump took office last month.
On Tuesday, President Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff brought back American teacher Marc Fogel, who was “mistakenly detained” by Russia, after concluding his visit to Russia. Trump congratulated Fogel on his release and met with him.