Thirty prisoners convicted for participating in protests in Belarus have been pardoned and set free.
A statement posted on President Alexander Lukashenko’s website declared that a decree has been signed granting clemency to the thirty individuals, who had all been sentenced for “protest-related crimes.”
Those released are 14 women and 16 men, some of whom reportedly suffer from “severe illnesses” or are of retirement age. All thirty have "confessed" to their "crimes" and expressed remorse, the statement said.
However, their identities have not been disclosed.
Protests against Lukashenko’s government surged in the wake of elections in 2020, following allegations that the results had been rigged.
The demonstrations were forcefully repressed, and many protesters detained. Human rights organisation Viasna estimates that around 1,400 political prisoners are still detained in Minsk.
