Belarus has “unilaterally” released an American citizen from detention, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Sunday, as the Kremlin-aligned nation conducted a highly criticized election expected to extend President Alexander Lukashenko’s decades-long rule.
In a post on the X social media platform, Rubio identified the released U.S. citizen as Anastassia Nuhfer. He noted that Nuhfer was detained during former President Joe Biden’s administration but did not provide details on the timing or reasons for her arrest.
Rubio’s announcement follows a series of prisoner releases by Lukashenko, often referred to as “Europe’s last dictator.” According to Belarus’ oldest human rights group, Viasna, over 1,250 individuals remain imprisoned for opposing the government.
Lukashenko’s critics, many of whom are imprisoned or living in exile due to a severe crackdown on dissent and free speech, have denounced Sunday’s election as a sham. The previous election in 2020 sparked months of unprecedented mass protests in Belarus.
The U.S. State Department later clarified that Nuhfer had been detained in early December 2024. Earlier this month, a consular officer from Washington was granted rare access to an American detainee in Belarus.
A former senior Belarusian diplomat, speaking to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, stated that Nuhfer’s detention was linked to the 2020 protests. The diplomat added that Lukashenko personally authorized her release “as a gesture of goodwill” but refused to release any Belarusian opposition figures or human rights activists.
Nuhfer’s release was unexpected, even among Belarusian activists. Her detention had not been made public, nor had her name appeared on lists of political prisoners.
Pavel Sapelka, a representative of the Viasna human rights group, expressed surprise at the news. “We were unaware of her arrest or the circumstances surrounding it,” he said.
Lukashenko’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine has strained Belarus’ relations with the United States and the European Union, effectively ending his previous strategy of balancing ties with the West to secure additional subsidies from the Kremlin.
However, Artyom Shraybman, a Belarus analyst with the Carnegie Russia and Eurasia Center, suggested that Lukashenko might attempt to reduce Belarus’ reliance on Russia following the election.
“Lukashenko’s interim goal is to use the election to confirm his legitimacy and try to overcome his isolation, potentially starting a dialogue with the West about easing sanctions,” Shraybman said.
It remains unclear what, if any, concessions Belarus has sought in exchange for releasing the U.S. citizen.
