Freelance journalist Andrei Kuznechyk released after three years in prison

On Feb­ru­ary 12, 2025, three indi­vid­u­als were released from prison in Belarus: jour­nal­ist Andrei Kuznechyk, who had been sen­tenced to six years, activist Ale­na Maushuk, and a U.S. cit­i­zen whose name has not yet been dis­closed. This was announced by the leader of the Belaru­sian pro-democ­ra­cy forces, Svi­at­lana Tsikhanouskaya.

Jour­nal­ist Andrei Kuznechyk meets his fam­i­ly in Vil­nius. Feb­ru­ary 12, 2025. Pho­to: RFE/RL Belarus

“Won­der­ful news. Today, we wel­come the release of three hostages of the regime—journalist Andrei Kuznechyk, activist Ale­na Maushuk, and a U.S. cit­i­zen whose name remains undis­closed.

I have been informed that all three are now safe in Vil­nius. Rep­re­sen­ta­tives of the U.S. Embassy are assist­ing them, and Ale­na Maushuk is being tak­en to a secure loca­tion by mem­bers of the Office and the Unit­ed Tran­si­tion­al Cab­i­net, where she will receive all nec­es­sary sup­port.

I am deeply grate­ful to Pres­i­dent Trump, Sec­re­tary of State Mar­co Rubio, and the U.S. State Depart­ment for their joint efforts that made this pos­si­ble.

I am hap­py that these for­mer pris­on­ers can final­ly reunite with their fam­i­lies and loved ones after so many days behind bars. At last, they can embrace their rel­a­tives. We will con­tin­ue to fight for the release of every sin­gle per­son!” Tsikhanouskaya wrote on her Telegram chan­nel.

On Feb­ru­ary 12, Andrei Kuznechyk was final­ly able to embrace his fam­i­ly. He was met in Vil­nius by his wife, Alesya, their 5‑year-old son, Matsvei, and their 11-year-old daugh­ter, Yan­i­na.

Kuznechyk was arrest­ed on Novem­ber 25, 2021. The free­lance jour­nal­ist was con­vict­ed on charges of “cre­at­ing or par­tic­i­pat­ing in an extrem­ist for­ma­tion.” Judge Ihar Shvedau of the Mahilou Region­al Court sen­tenced him to six years in prison.

On Jan­u­ary 14, a pro-gov­ern­ment TV chan­nel, ANT, aired a pro­pa­gan­da film about “employ­ees of Amer­i­can media.” It was the first time in a long while that the impris­oned jour­nal­ist was shown.