US secures release from Belarus of Minsk-born American, US official says

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By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States has secured the release from Belarus of an American who was arrested in Moscow and held on coup plot allegations, a senior U.S. official told Reuters on Wednesday.

Youras Ziankovich, a 47-year-old naturalized American who was born in Minsk and lives in Texas, was released across the border of Belarus into Lithuania and is on his way home, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In April 2021, Ziankovich was picked up while having lunch in Moscow. He was hooded, handcuffed and driven to Belarus, where he was tried in secret by a Minsk court and sent to prison for allegedly plotting a coup, sources have told Reuters in the past.

The U.S. official said the Lithuanian government and the U.S. embassy in Lithuania played a role in securing the release of Ziankovich, who the U.S. considered wrongfully detained.

U.S. President Donald Trump has made a concerted effort to bring back Americans held around the world, tasking U.S. special envoy Adam Boehler with much of the work. The official said Ziankovich was the 47th detainee released by a variety of countries around the world since Trump took office on January 20.

The official said the release was a positive sign from the government of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I want to acknowledge President Alexander Lukashenko’s humanitarian gesture today in releasing Mr. Ziankovich,” the official said.

In addition, the official said an American who had been held in Kuwait was returning to the United States on Wednesday. Tony Holden was part of a group of 23 Americans detained in Kuwait and pardoned in March.

    Holden was in Kuwait as a military contractor and was detained on minor drug-related charges.

“Tony is free. After 902 days, my brother is finally home,” Holden’s sister, Rita Holden, said in a statement.

(Reporting by Steve Holland in Washington; additional reporting by Jonathan Landay; Editing by Nia Williams)