Fifteen women and seven men are leaving Belarusian prisons based on a presidential decree. Although authorities say the convicts have pleaded guilty and shown remorse, human rights organizations say they are political prisoners.
On Tuesday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a decree granting amnesty to 22 people – 15 women and seven men – as part of the amnesty before the New Year. Of those pardoned, 20 were convicted of “extremist crimes,” a charge often used against opposition figures, according to AFP.
- Belarusian President Lukashenko pardoned 22 people before the New Year.
- Most of those released were convicted of ‘extremist crimes’.
- More than a thousand political prisoners are still behind bars in Belarus.
- The release of the prisoners is a response to the lifting of some US sanctions.
Political prisoners
The press service of the president, according to the Belarusian agency BelTA, said that all those released asked the head of state for mercy, admitted their guilt and expressed regret. The “interests of their families” were also taken into account in the release.
The identity of those released is not known, writes TASR.
More than five years after the suppression of protests against Lukashenko’s victory in the presidential elections, which the opposition and Western countries consider rigged, there are still more than a thousand political prisoners in Belarus.
The release of prisoners in exchange for the lifting of some US sanctions
The government of US President Donald Trump has renewed dialogue with Belarus in recent months as part of efforts to release Belarusian political prisoners and mediate an end to the war in Ukraine.
On December 13, 123 political prisoners were released in exchange for the lifting of some American sanctions, including the protest leader Maria Kalesnikava and the dissident Ales Bialacky, who were deported to Lithuania and Ukraine.
Bialacki, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, told AFP after his release that while the Belarusian government was releasing prisoners on the one hand, it was arresting more people on the other.
