Pompeo Tells Belarusian Leader To Release US Citizen Shklyarov - State Department

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th October, 2020) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to release political consultant Vitaly Shklyarov, who holds US citizenship, a State Department spokesperson told Sputnik.

"We can confirm Secretary Pompeo's call [with Lukashenko] today. The Secretary called for the full release and immediate departure from Belarus of wrongfully detained U.S.

citizen Vitali Shkliarov and reaffirmed U.S. support for the democratic aspirations of the people of Belarus," the spokesperson said.

Shklyarov was detained in Belarus in June, as part of a criminal investigation. He was charged with organizing and preparing acts that grossly violate public order, or actively participating in them. On Monday, his lawyer, Anton Gashinsky, told Sputnik that Shklyarov had been released from a detention facility in Belarus and put under house arrest.