WH: Belarus Releases 3, Including American

Three detainees have been released from detention in Belarus, including one American, the White House said on Wednesday, without naming those who were released.

"We can confirm the safe release of one American and two individuals from Belarus," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Russian and Belarusian embassies in Washington also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The release comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month that Belarus had "unilaterally released an innocent American," whom he named as Anastassia Nuhfer. He gave no further details about the case, which had not previously been made public.

A person familiar with efforts to bring home American detainees held abroad said another American remains imprisoned in Belarus. The source said Youras Ziankovich, a 47-year-old naturalized American who lives in Texas, was arrested in April 2021 while having lunch in Moscow and had not been released on Wednesday.

Ziankovich was hooded, handcuffed and driven to Belarus, where he was tried in secret and sent to prison for allegedly plotting a coup, the source said, adding that he was allowed his first visit from Lithuania-based U.S. diplomats on Jan. 5.

The release of detainees from Belarus comes after American schoolteacher Marc Fogel was released by Russia after 3-1/2 years in prison.

Fogel, 63, was serving a 14-year sentence for drug smuggling after being caught at a Moscow airport with a small amount of marijuana. He was flown on Tuesday to Washington, where he celebrated his release with Trump at the White House on Tuesday.