A dissident film director from Belarus is released after 1 year of detention in Serbia

You May Be Interested In:Stellan Skarsgård Took A Pay Cut For Crew To Get Lunch, And More Actors Who Were Paid Less To Help Others


BERLIN — A noted Belarusian film director and dissident who was held in Serbia for a year while Belarus sought his extradition has been released and gone to Germany.

Andrei Hniot told The Associated Press that Serbian authorities released him from house arrest on Thursday, exactly a year after he was detained. Under Serbian law, pre-extradition detention cannot exceed one year, said his lawyer Filip Sofijanic.

Belarus issued an international warrant for Hniot on charges of tax evasion, which he claims are false.

Hniot is a noted critic of Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. He participated in the huge protests that gripped the country in 2020 following a a presidential election whose disputed results gave Lukashenko a sixth term in office.

Authorities launched an extensive and harsh crackdown on opposition amid the protests, which continues to the present day. More than 65,000 people were arrested for protesting or other opposition activity. The country’s most prominent opposition figures are now imprisoned or have fled the country.

Hniot said he was able to leave Serbia without problems.

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

Belarusian opposition figures abroad campaigned for Hniot’s release. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who was forced to leave Belarus after she ran against Lukashenko in 2020, said the German Foreign Ministry and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen supported efforts to release Hniot.

The Belarusian human rights group Viasna says there are about 1,300 political prisoners in Belarus, including the group’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning founder Ales Bialiatski.

share Paylaş facebook pinterest whatsapp x print

Similar Content

Film concerts: Performing movie music live
Film concerts: Performing movie music live
Who is performing at the Trump 2025 inauguration? Here's the list of tomorrow's singers.
Who is performing at the Trump 2025 inauguration? Here’s the list of tomorrow’s singers.
Top 20 Global Concert Tours from Pollstar
Family looks for missing Broadway dancer Zelig Williams in South Carolina
What to stream: Sabrina Carpenter holiday special, 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' and Rosé goes solo
What to stream: Sabrina Carpenter holiday special, ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ and Rosé goes solo
Golden Globes 2025: Who's nominated, hosting, ceremony honorees, what they'll eat and more
Golden Globes 2025: Who’s nominated, hosting, ceremony honorees, what they’ll eat and more
Passage: In memoriam
Passage: In memoriam
Around the Globe | © 2024 | News