The Belarusian dissident director was released after 1 year of imprisonment in Serbia

BERLIN – A famous Belarusian film director and dissident who was was held in Serbia during the year while Belarus sought his extradition, he was released and went to Germany.

Andrii Hniot told The Associated Press that Serbian authorities released him from house arrest on Thursday, exactly one year after he was detained. According to Serbian law, the term of pre-extradition detention cannot exceed one year, said his lawyer, Filip Sofianić.

Belarus has put Gniot on an international wanted list on tax evasion charges, which it considers false.

Gniot is a well-known critic of the authoritarian president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko. Took part in huge protests which swept the country in 2020 after presidential elections, the disputed results of which gave Lukashenko a sixth term in office.

Against the background of the protests, the authorities began a large-scale and harsh suppression of the opposition, which continues to this day. More than 65,000 people were arrested for protests or other opposition activities. Now the most famous opposition figures in the country imprisoned or escaped country.

Gniot said he was able to leave Serbia without any problems.

“In Berlin I was able to breathe a sigh of relief and try to realize that this nightmarish year is over,” he said.

Belarusian oppositionists abroad campaigned for Gnyot’s release. Svitlana Tsikhanovskaya, who was forced to leave Belarus after she ran against Lukashenka in 2020, said the German Foreign Ministry and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen supported efforts to free Gniot.

The Belarusian human rights organization “Vyasna” claims that there are about 1,300 political prisoners in Belarus, including a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. founder Ales Bialiatskyi.