Belarus Leader Pardons 37 Prisoners Convicted Of 'extremism'
Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published September 16, 2024 | 11:20 PM
Warsaw, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Sep, 2024) Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko on Monday pardoned 37 prisoners convicted of "extremist offences" -- a term Minsk uses to describe political prisoners -- in a fresh round of amnesties.
Belarus has hundreds of political prisoners, many of whom were jailed after Minsk cracked down on massive anti-Lukashenko protests in 2020.
"Ahead of National Unity Day, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a decree on pardoning 37 more people convicted of extremist offences," state media Belta reported.
It said the list included people with chronic illnesses and pensioners.
The announcement on Monday marked the fourth round of pardons since July.
The identities of the released prisoners have not been made public.
Lukashenko's office called the move "another gesture of humanism on the part of the state towards the wrongdoers", claiming that the prisoners had "repented.
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Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said the release of the 37 was an "immense relief" but cautioned many others were still in jail.
"Arrests continue and many are still tortured and held incommunicado. We will not rest until every last person is free," she wrote in a social media post on X.
Unprecedented anti-government protests erupted in Minsk in the summer of 2020, with protesters accusing Lukashenko of rigging a presidential election.
Belarus massively cracked down on the demonstrations, jailing hundreds and forcing thousands into exile.
Reclusive for years, Belarus became even more isolated after allowing Russia to use its territory to launch the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Lukashenko has been in power since 1994.
