Belarus's authoritarian ruler, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, announced the pardon of 29 political prisoners, even as crackdowns on dissent intensify ahead of the January presidential election and while many hundreds of similar detainees remain behind bars.
The Belarusian presidential administration did not disclose the names of those freed, but it said 11 women and 18 men were involved and that more than half of them had disabilities and chronic illnesses.
"All of those released repented for their actions and appealed to the head of state to be pardoned," the official statement claimed.
"Among them six are under 25 years old, three are pensioners, two are disabled, and 15 have chronic diseases," it said.
It added that the Interior Ministry "will keep tabs on the pardoned to make sure they do not break the law again.”
Some Belarusians released in previous pardons reported being harassed by government security personnel.
It was not immediately clear if the list of those pardoned contained any prominent activists, many of whom are being held in reportedly cruel conditions without access to legal representation.
The Crisis In Belarus
Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.
This marks the seventh instance of political prisoner pardons in Belarus this year, bringing the total number of individuals set free to 178.
Pavel Sapelka of the Vyasna human rights monitor was quoted by AP as saying, "Lukashenka is sending contradictory signals to the West, with twice as many people put in prison as have been pardoned."
"Repression in Belarus is still growing," Sapelka said.
The latest pardons come in the context of a harsh crackdown on dissent following the mass protests in Belarus in 2020, sparked by contested presidential election results. Lukashenka responded to the demonstrations with widespread repression, forcing at least 13,000 people into exile.
Lukashenka, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is widely expected to be declared the winner in next year’s presidential election.
According to human rights organizations, approximately 1,300 political prisoners remain in Belarusian jails, including politicians, journalists, human rights advocates, and civic activists.