It was the sixth batch of pardons issued this year, starting in January, by Lukashenko, who has been in power in the former Soviet republic since 1994.
Human rights groups say more than 1,200 people labeled as political prisoners are still in detention more than four years after Belarusian authorities launched a crackdown on protesters who opposed his election to a sixth term.
Lukashenko is running for the seventh term in January.
The Ministry of the Interior said that the police will carry out exercises this week to ensure that “manifestations of extremism and terrorism” are prevented.
The announcement in Pula did not identify any of those pardoned, but said the group consisted of eight women and 24 men, all of whom had been convicted on charges of extremism.
“Pul Prvo” announced that they all admitted their guilt and asked for pardon from the president. Seventeen of them had chronic diseases, one was disabled, nine of them were over 50 years old, and 17 of them had children.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the exiled opposition leader who ran against Lukashenko in the 2020 elections, wrote on the X platform that the news of the latest pardon “fills my heart with joy.”
– We must, however, see the harsh reality: repression continues and the number of political prisoners continues to grow – she wrote.
Several prominent activists remain in prison. One of them, Marija Kalesnikava, was pictured on social media this month being allowed to meet her father after not being seen for more than a year.
Lukashenko’s victory in the 2020 elections sparked unprecedented demonstrations during which he was accused of rigging the election.
Police crackdowns have quelled the protests, and human rights groups say around 30,000 people have been detained at various times, Reuters reports.
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
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