RFE/RL Journalist Ihar Losik and Former Havel Fellow Alena Tsimashchuk Released from Detention in Belarus
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is grateful to the Trump administration and the Lithuanian government.
(VILNIUS, LITHUANIA) — RFE/RL journalist Ihar Losik and former Vaclav Havel Journalism Fellow Alena Tsimashchuk have been freed from unjust imprisonment in Belarus.
RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said:
“We are immensely grateful to President Trump for securing Ihar and Alena’s release from wrongful detention by Belarusian authorities. We also thank Secretary Rubio, Deputy Special Envoy John Coale, the Lithuanian government, and the press freedom community for their strong support of RFE/RL’s imprisoned journalists.
Ihar suffered horribly because he was a journalist working for RFE/RL. This phase of his excruciating and wholly unfair ordeal, which stretched beyond five years, is finally over.
Alena is a young woman at the start of her career who had two years of her life stolen from her.”
Ihar Losik is a journalist for RFE/RL’s Belarus Service who was detained in Minsk in June 2020. In December 2021, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison on false charges, including “organization of mass riots” and “incitement to hatred.” While in detention, Ihar endured extremely harsh conditions, including long periods of incommunicado detention.
Alena Tsimashchuk, a former Vaclav Havel Journalism Fellow, was also released. Alena was detained in September 2023 on extremism charges. In June 2024, she was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.
Today’s releases come after the Trump administration secured the release of RFE/RL journalist Andrei Kuznechyk in February and former RFE/RL journalist Ihar Karnei in June. Both men were imprisoned in Belarus.
RFE/RL journalists Farid Mehralizada and Nika Novak remain unjustly imprisoned in Azerbaijan and Russia, respectively. Former RFE/RL journalist Reza Valizadeh remains imprisoned in Iran.
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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a private, independent international news organization whose programs — digital, television, and radio — reach a weekly audience of nearly 50 million people in 23 countries.