Photo: Alamy
The Trump administration marked the release of the 47th unjustly detained American citizen overseas on Wednesday with the release of Youras Ziankovich from prison in Belarus.
American officials released Ziankovich into neighboring Lithuania, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the citizen’s freedom on X.
“Thanks to @POTUS‘s leadership, Belarus has released another wrongfully detained U.S. citizen. No president has done so much, so quickly, to keep Americans safe abroad,” Rubio posted.
“In just 100 days, we’ve also secured the release of 47 unjustly detained Americans around the world – including in Afghanistan, Russia, and Venezuela – through high-level diplomatic efforts,” he added.
Alena Dzenisavets, Ziankovich’s wife, shared her thanks during an interview on CNN.
“I knew this day would come. It took 1,480 days, but he survived and is on his way home to me and to America,” Dzenisavets said. “I want to thank President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and Special Envoy Boehler and the SPEHA staff. I also want to express my appreciation to Rep. Morgan Luttrell and the nonprofits Global Reach and the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation for their help advocating for Youras.”
The news comes after the release of an American missionary last month who was held in Tunisia for over a year. Missionary Robert Vieira was released after being detained on allegations of espionage 13 months ago.
“We appreciate the government of Tunisia’s decision to resolve this case and allow Mr. Vieira to reunite with his family after more than 13 months of pre-trial detention,” U.S. special envoy Adam Boehler said.
According to Reuters, Boehler collaborated extensively with Tunisian Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Nafti to secure the detainee’s release.
Among other Americans freed since Trump’s return to the White House, Trump also secured the return of Marc Fogel in February, an American history teacher who had been held in Russia since 2021.
The release of Fogel was described as the result of a negotiation by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Today, President Donald J. Trump and his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are able to announce that Mr. Witkoff is leaving Russian airspace with Marc Fogel, an American who was detained by Russia,” National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said in February.
“President Trump, Steve Witkoff and the President’s advisors negotiated an exchange that serves as a show of good faith from the Russians and a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine,” he added.
