Yury Zyankovich, a former political prisoner and figure in the 'conspirators' case discussed his plans and shared what he knows about why Alyaksandr Fyaduta is still not free. He also announced an auction of candies that he allegedly received from Alyaksandr Lukashenka. He promised to donate the money to help political prisoners. Zyankovich shared this information at a press conference on May 12.
Zyankovich said he will continue to engage in the Belarusian cause and focus on helping those illegally imprisoned in Belarus.
"Belarus has been and remains in my heart. I am still a citizen of Belarus and will do whatever I can. I would like to focus on the release of people who are unjustly convicted or detained," Zyankovich said.
He announced an initiative to support political prisoners and showed a box with the Belarusian coat of arms. According to Zyankovich, the box contained candies personally from Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
"I brought them from Belarus. I want to appeal to Belarusian human rights activists to help me organize an auction. I want to donate the money from the sale of these candies to help political prisoners," Zyankovich said.
He noted that Lukashenka didn't give him the candy in person, but he won't disclose how he received it.
Regarding one of his associates in the "conspirators' case," the political prisoner Alyaksandr Fyaduta, Zyankovich says he knows the latter is very ill.
,,Why he is not free? I don't know. I met with a man who was in the same unit as Alyaksandr Fyaduta. Alyaksandr refuses to write a pardon petition to Lukashenka because he considers it pointless. As Fyaduta said: "I'll laugh if I write it, and he'll laugh if he reads it, Zyankovich continued.
After his release, he had time to talk to another defendant in the "conspirators' case," psychiatrist Dzmitry Shchyhelski. Zyankovich concluded by noting that Shchyhelski was one of the key participants in preparing the coup in Belarus.
"He has no claims against me and is happy about my release. He was very worried about me and felt uncomfortable – this is also a moral responsibility. As for my testimony on Shchyhelski – everything that was said in the KGB – it was prearranged because we had calculated the possibility of our arrest. We had agreements." Dzmitry specifically said: 'If something happens, blame it on me. It's absolutely normal,'" Zyankovich added.
According to Zyankovich, he had contact with other Belarusian politicians after leaving Belarus.
"Dozens of people have already called me, including Franak Viachorka from Tsikhanouskaya's headquarters. I'm talking to everyone, trying to understand the situation and what's going on," he added.
Regarding his release, Zyankovich said that KGB head Ivan Tertel told him what he had reported publicly.
"Mr. Tertel also told me that there was a serious discussion and that there were different opinions at the Security Council. Allegedly, Alyaksandr Lukashenka personally insisted that I be released. I don't know whether I should trust these words. Maybe there is some truth to it, or maybe it's only partially true. American diplomats told me that Lukashenka called me Osama bin Laden and offered to take me away. I don't know if this was his initiative or if he was forced to release me. Furthermore, I know that the American delegation was offered Anton Ross instead of me. However, the Americans said that Ross is not recognized in the U.S. as an illegally detained person," says Zyankovich.
He added that both the Belarusian and U.S. intelligence services tried to recruit him in the 2010s, but he said "no" to both.
Zyankovich, an American lawyer, was arrested in Moscow in 2021 on charges of attempting to assassinate Lukashenka and was taken to Minsk. He was convicted in the "conspirators' case" on multiple criminal charges and sentenced to 11 years in a maximum-security prison. Literary scholar and political scientist Alyaksandr Fyaduta, as well as Ryhor Kastusiou, chairman of the BPF Party, were also tried in this case. Each of them was sentenced to ten years. In court, Fyaduta, Kastusiou, and Zyankovich were found guilty of conspiring to seize state power by unconstitutional means. Human rights activists recognized them as political prisoners.
The KGB claimed to have prevented an assassination attempt on Lukashenka and his sons, as well as the disclosure of a coup d'etat.
Zyankovich was released on April 30. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that "Belarus had released another unjustly detained U.S. citizen."
belsat.eu
