The U.S. charge d'affaires at the embassy in Minsk on September 20 condemned a video broadcast on Belarusian state television that showed imprisoned U.S.-Belarusian citizen Yuras Zyankovich begging, likely under duress, for help from U.S. presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
"I resolutely condemn the Belarusian regime's reprehensible depiction of a detained U.S. citizen on state media for propaganda purposes and refute the baseless claims made in the program," Peter Kaufman said in a statement.
"The regime's history of using coercive tactics to produce content like this strongly calls into question the voluntary nature of the U.S. citizen's participation," he said, adding that U.S. citizens "should not travel to Belarus and those in Belarus should depart immediately."
Zyankovich was arrested in April 2021 and sentenced to 11 years in prison in September 2022 on charges of allegedly planning to assassinate authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka and his family and seize power in the country.
In January 2022, an additional six months were added to his sentence on a charge of insulting an official.
Late on September 19, Zyankovich, who looked to have lost a significant amount of weight, appeared in a propaganda film aired by state-run Belarus-1 TV where he "repents."
Under apparent duress, Zyankovich gave details of the alleged plan to overthrow Lukashenka's government.
At the end of the film, Zyankovich makes an appeal to U.S. presidential candidates Harris and Trump, asking them to help secure his release and reunite him with his family in Houston, Texas.
Analysts said that the appeal, orchestrated by Belarusian authorities amid the release of over 100 political prisoners in recent months, appears to be part of Minsk's attempt to engage in dialogue with the West.
Zyankovich is serving his term in a prison in the eastern region of Mahilyou, notorious for its harsh treatment of political detainees.
Rights defenders said earlier this year that Zyankovich was charged with violation of the penitentiary's internal regulations and may face an additional year in prison if tried and convicted on that charge.
Human rights organizations have declared Zyankovich a political prisoner.
