Belarusian president pardons: 37 prisoners convicted of ‘extremism’

WARSAW: Belarusian President 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 pardonings since July. The identities of the released prisoners have not been made public. Lukashenko´s office called the move a “another gesture of humanism on the part of the state towards the wrongdoers”, claiming that the prisoners had “repented.”