Lukashenko Issues Another Pardon for Those Convicted of Extremism

According to the Telegram channel Pul Pervogo, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned 32 individuals convicted of extremism. This marks the sixth group of pardons since July of this year by Lukashenko, who has led the former Soviet republic since 1994. Human rights organizations report that over 1,200 individuals classified as political prisoners remain detained, more than four years after a crackdown on protesters questioning his re-election began. Despite ongoing criticism, Lukashenko plans to run for a seventh term in January. The Interior Ministry announced that the police would carry out exercises this week to prevent 'manifestations of extremism and terrorism'. The names of the pardoned individuals were not mentioned, but according to Pul Pervogo, the group consisted of eight women and 24 men, all of whom confessed to their guilt and asked for forgiveness. Among them were 17 chronically ill individuals, one disabled person, nine individuals over 50, and 17 parents. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled opposition leader who ran against Lukashenko in 2020, expressed her happiness over the pardons on X. However, she also pointed out the ongoing repression and the growing number of political prisoners. Lukashenko often announced such pardons for reasons of poor health or advanced age. Despite the releases, several prominent activists remain imprisoned. One of them, Maria Kalesnikava, was allowed to meet her father for the first time in over a year this month, as shown on social media. Lukashenko's 2020 election victory triggered unprecedented demonstrations, as protesters alleged election fraud. Human rights groups estimate that approximately 30,000 people were temporarily detained.