Belarus releases American woman who was detained last month "as gesture of goodwill"

Belarus has "unilaterally" freed an American woman from detention, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Sunday, as the Kremlin-allied country held an orchestrated election poised to give strongman President Alexander Lukashenko yet another term on top of his three decades in power.

Rubio's post on the X social network identified the U.S. citizen as Anastassia Nuhfer. It said she was detained during former President Joe Biden's tenure, but did not specify when or why.

Rubio's statement came following waves of prisoner releases by Lukashenko, often dubbed "Europe's last dictator." Belarus' oldest rights group, Viasna, says that over 1,250 people remain in detention over their opposition to the authorities.