Lukashenko pardons 30 convicted in Belarus antigovernment protests

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned 30 people convicted for antigovernment protests, four years after huge demonstrations that prompted a massive crackdown on dissent and spurred a new wave of emigration.

Lukashenko’s office said in a statement on Wednesday that the move was a “humane gesture” that affected seven women and 23 men.

“Most are parents of … small children,” it said, without elaborating on their identities.

The veteran leader, who turned 70 last week, released 18 people from prison in early July and announced a pardon for 30 individuals on August 16.

Those freed so far include sick and elderly people, some of whom were approaching the end of their sentences.

Among them were trade union leader Vasil Berasnieu, former opposition presidential candidate Ryhor Kastusiou, and Kseniya Lutskina, a former state TV journalist who is suffering from a brain tumour.

Nearly 1,400 people remain in prison in Belarus for voicing dissent against Lukashenko, who has run the country for 30 years, according to rights group Viasna. Thousands of others have left the country.

Last week, protest leader Maria Kolesnikova’s allies in exile said she was being subjected to a “slow murder” in the prison where she is being held in eastern Belarus, where she is kept in constant isolation.

Protests erupted in Belarus in 2020 in the run-up to the presidential election, which saw Lukashenko claim a landslide victory. The opposition decried the result as fraudulent.

Repressive for years, Belarus doubled down following the protests and became isolated further after 2022 when it allowed Russia to use its territory to invade Ukraine.