WARSAW: Reclusive Belarus on Wednesday freed five political prisoners in a rare amnesty by President Alexander Lukashenko, who has waged a crackdown on opponents throughout his three-decade rule.
Lukashenko intensified that campaign when huge nationwide protests erupted after he claimed victory in a 2020 presidential election that rights groups said was fraudulent.
Leading rights group Viasna estimates that Belarus has more than 1,400 political prisoners -- including its founder, Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski -- with thousands more having fled the country.
“Today we witnessed the first cases of some political prisoners being released in Belarus,” exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya posted on X. Viasna said three men and two women were released in the amnesty.