After being arrested at an airport in Belarus, former WNBA player Yelena Leuchanka was freed from prison this past Thursday.
Leuchanka was serving a 15-day prison service for what was termed as violating edicts on public gatherings. What she was really arrested for was protesting the election of the country’s “president” who was re-elected to a sixth term in office amid allegations of ballot rigging.
In addition to her athletic accolades, Leuchanka is also a member of the Free Association of Belarusian Athletes.
Her WNBA career included stints with the Charlotte Sting, Washington Mystics and Atlanta Dream and she also played once upon a time for UMMC Ekaterinburg.
It appeared that Thursday when the release occurred that the story would take a turn for the worst. When she was released, she was initially taken back to jail for another 72 hours before being prosecuted again. Her parents were outside the jail that day as they were expecting her to be released.
The courts ultimately ordered Leuchanka to be immediately freed and pay a fine. She was then reunited with her family.
The original arrest occurred when Leuchanka attempted to depart from Belarus via Minsk’s airport to receive medical treatment.
