The Polish government had been seeking the release of Mariusz Maszkiewicz, ambassador from 1998-2002, after he was sentenced to 15 days detention under the Belarusian Administrative Code for attending unsanctioned protests against President Alexander Lukashenko's landslide election win on March 19.
A spokesman for the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said the former diplomat had been released early, but underscored that he had failed to obey the law.
"Mariusz Maszkiewicz was in Belarus as an individual and broke the country's laws," Andrei Popov said. "His release is exclusively an act of goodwill."
Maszkiewicz, who fell ill during his detention and was taken to the hospital now, is now in the Polish consulate in Belarus and will depart for Warsaw tonight or tomorrow morning.
Thousands of supporters of the Belarusian opposition held demonstrations in the center of Minsk after Lukashenko, who Washington has dubbed "Europe's last dictator", was reelected to a third term as president with 83% of the vote. Although the long-time leader is known to maintain support in his homeland, the opposition claimed the election was rigged.
