Rubio: American citizen released from Belarusian prison

(Patria) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed yesterday that American citizen Anastassia Nuhfer has been released from a Belarusian prison.

Without providing details, Rubio wrote on social media platform X that Nuhfer had been in detention during the presidential term of Joe Biden and that Belarus had "unilaterally released" her.

Details surrounding Nuhfer's detention remain unclear, and her name had not been previously mentioned in public.

Minsk never disclosed her name, and Washington does not release the names of detained Americans abroad without the consent of their families.

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is based in Lithuania, welcomed Nuhfer's release and highlighted the difficult plight of political prisoners in Belarus under authoritarian ruler Alexander Lukashenko.

Thanks to @POTUS leadership, Belarus just unilaterally released an innocent American, ANASTASSIA Nuhfer, who was taken under JOE BIDEN! @ChrisWelbySmith from our team did a great job on this. 🇺🇸 PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@secrubio) January 26, 2025

"Thank you to our (American) friends for your efforts on behalf of Nuhfer and on behalf of all political prisoners in Belarus. Each of them must be released. We will continue to fight for the release of all those unjustly detained," Tsikhanouskaya wrote on X.

Belarus has faced international criticism over its treatment of political prisoners and the suppression of critical voices.

Another prominent figure imprisoned in Belarus is U.S. citizen Yuras Zyankovich, a Belarusian-American lawyer and opposition politician.