Most have been jailed following mass anti-government protests in 2020, when Lukashenko secured his sixth time period in a vote extensively condemned as fraudulent.
Belarus’ chief Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned an extra 20 folks whom rights activists describe as political prisoners.
That is in accordance with a press release revealed on Saturday on the president’s web site.
The announcement comes amid ongoing oppression of political opponents within the run-up to presidential elections which can happen subsequent month and extensively anticipated to increase Lukashenko’s decades-long rule.
Belarusian officers didn’t present the names of these launched, however the assertion posted on-line mentioned that each one of them had been convicted of “crimes of an extremist nature.”
The assertion went on to say that the group included 11 girls, while 14 of these pardoned suffered from persistent diseases.
“All of these launched repented for his or her actions and appealed to the pinnacle of state to be pardoned,” the presidential administration mentioned, utilizing wording acquainted from a collection of earlier group pardons up to now six months.
Saturday’s announcement marks the eighth such pardon by Lukashenko for the reason that summer time of 2024.
In all, 207 political prisoners have been freed, in accordance with Belarus’ oldest human rights group, Viasna.
Most have been jailed following mass anti-government protests in 2020, when Lukashenko secured his sixth time period in a vote extensively condemned as fraudulent.
Round 65,000 folks have been arrested throughout these protests with Viasna saying over 1,250 stay behind bars.
No distinguished opposition figures, lots of whom haven’t been heard from for months, have been launched.
They embrace Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Viasna founder Ales Bialatski; Siarhei Tsikhanouski, who deliberate to problem Lukashenko on the poll field in 2020 however was jailed earlier than the vote; and Viktar Babaryka, who was additionally imprisoned after gaining reputation earlier than the election.
The mass pardons come amid a brand new wave of repression, mentioned Viasna activist Pavel Sapelka, as Minsk prepares to carry new presidential elections in January 2025 which can be prone to hand Lukashenko a seventh consecutive time period in workplace.
In November, the election fee allowed solely seven politicians loyal to Lukashenko to start out gathering signatures to oppose him in upcoming presidential elections.
“Lukashenko is sending contradictory indicators (to the West), pardoning some however jailing twice as many political prisoners of their place,” Sapelka mentioned.
“Repression is intensifying and authorities try to root out any indicators of dissent earlier than the January elections.”
Belarusian authorities engineer harsh situations for political prisoners, denying them conferences with attorneys and family and depriving them of medical care.
At the least seven political prisoners have died behind bars since 2020, in accordance with Viasna.
Lukashenko, who has dominated Belarus for greater than 30 years, is one in every of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies, permitting Russia to make use of his nation’s territory to ship troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and to deploy a few of its tactical nuclear weapons.
