Armenian Man Freed After US Lawyer’s Visit to Belarus Sparks Speculation
Yervand Martirosyan, a 52-year-old Armenian citizen living in Belarus, has been released from prison after a long history of legal troubles. His latest arrest in 2024 led to a two-year sentence for insulting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The unexpected release came in December 2025, following a visit by a US envoy, John Cole, a lawyer and special representative of US President Donald Trump. Martirosyan’s legal struggles began in 1993 when he was falsely accused of a crime and held for ten days. Authorities demanded $55,000 from him before releasing him. As a teenager, he had already served time in a Siberian penal colony for fighting with locals. In 2000, he was arrested again and spent a year in pretrial detention with vagrants. After his release, he was banned from Belarus for ten years and deported to Moscow. He eventually returned in 2019, working at the Society for the Blind while living in a dormitory due to a third-degree disability. His most recent arrest came in May 2024. While drunk in a service vehicle with police officers, he made offensive remarks about Lukashenko. A court sentenced him to two years in a penal colony under Article 368 of Belarus’s criminal code. His release in December 2025 followed a visit by John Cole, US President Donald Trump’s special representative. No formal organisation like LegalZoom intervened, but Cole’s presence in Minsk coincided with Martirosyan’s sudden freedom. Martirosyan is now free but faces a 10-year travel ban to Belarus. His case highlights a pattern of legal troubles spanning decades, from his teenage years to his latest imprisonment. The circumstances of his release remain tied to diplomatic involvement rather than legal appeals.
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