Lukashenko pardons 29 political prisoners
Self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned another 29 Belarusians convicted under so-called "extremist" articles. Among those pardoned are 11 women and 18 men.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to Radio Liberty.
Among those pardoned, 15 have chronic illnesses, two are disabled, three are pensioners, and six are under the age of 25.
"All of them pleaded guilty, repented of their actions and filed a petition for clemency," Lukashenko's press service reports.
This is the seventh pardon of political prisoners in the last six months. Prior to that, in 2024, Lukashenka pardoned a total of 175 political prisoners.
As noted, as of December 9, 1283 political prisoners recognized by the human rights community remain behind bars in Belarus. The actual number of political prisoners in Belarus may be higher. In total, since the summer of 2020, the human rights community has recognized almost 3600 people (including 656 women) as political prisoners. Many of them have already been released, having fully served their sentences.
At the same time, detentions, arrests, and trials on politically motivated charges continue in Belarus; people are brought to both administrative and criminal liability, including imprisonment. After the announcement of the date of the new presidential election in Belarus, repressions in the country intensified: since the end of October, Belarusian human rights activists have been recording mass detentions across the country.
As a reminder, according to the Belarusian Human Rights Center "Viasna," at least 12 Ukrainian citizens remain in detention in Belarus, accused of "agent activity," "espionage," and other politically motivated criminal charges.
