Lukashenko pardons 30 political prisoners

Some of them were already released in July and August as part of the amnesty.

Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned 30 Belarusian political prisoners, including 14 women and 16 men, including pensioners and prisoners with serious illnesses. This was reported by Lukashenko's press service.

"They all admitted their guilt, sincerely repented of their actions and pledged to lead a law-abiding life. The Ministry of Internal Affairs will ensure control over the fulfillment of such obligations on the instructions of the Head of State," the statement says.

The press service calls the political prisoners "convicted of protest-related crimes." The names of those pardoned are not given, and the pardon decree itself has not been published.

Some of those pardoned had already been released in July and August, Franak Vyachorka, senior adviser to the Belarusian president in exile Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, told Important Stories. According to him, today's decree formalized this process.

He also reported that earlier Belarusian human rights activists had compiled lists of seriously ill political prisoners who needed to be released. These names were passed on to Minsk through diplomats and international organizations. According to Vyachorka, some of the pardoned prisoners were on these lists.

“Of course, we welcome the release of every political prisoner,” Tikhanovskaya’s adviser noted.

A source familiar with the negotiations told Important Stories that there were 34 names on the humanitarian lists from human rights activists. They are not being disclosed so as not to endanger the prisoners.

Earlier, during the amnesty for the 80th anniversary of Belarus' liberation from the Nazis on July 3, 2024, Lukashenko released 7,850 prisoners, including minors, pregnant women, pensioners, and people suffering from tuberculosis or cancer. Among them were at least 18 political prisoners, but they were released in "silent mode."

Among them were the 67-year-old chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front Grigory Kostusev, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison, as well as Darya Losik, Tamara Ostreiko, Svetlana Lupach, Ekaterina Madenkova and Polina Polovinko. Human rights activists did not disclose the names of many amnestied political prisoners for the safety of those released. In August, Pyotr Zinevich, who was released under the amnesty, was sent back to prison for participating in the 2020 protests.