Belarusian authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka has pardoned 31 people convicted under the country’s "extremism" law.
Two women and 29 men were pardoned, Lukashenka's press service said on November 7. The press service said 17 of the people released have chronic illnesses, three are disabled, and 27 have children.
Though they will be released, their criminal records will not be expunged and the Internal Affairs Ministry will "ensure control over their law-abiding behavior," the press service said. Lukashenka has pardoned 115 political prisoners this year.
Despite the pardons, Belarus remains home to a significant number of political prisoners. Approximately 1,287 political prisoners recognized by the human rights community remain behind bars in Belarus, according to the human rights center Vyasna.
The political climate in Belarus remains tense, and human rights defenders have reported mass detentions across the country since the announcement of the next presidential elections to be held on January 26, 2025, with both administrative and criminal trials ongoing.
Since the crackdown on dissent that followed the disputed 2020 presidential election, the human rights community has recognized almost 3,600 people as political prisoners, and detentions, arrests, and trials on politically motivated charges continue in Belarus.
The pardons announced on November 7 mark the fifth wave of pardons in recent months. Previous pardons took place on September 4, August 16, and July 3, releasing individuals associated with "political" and "protest" crimes, including some with serious health issues, like opposition figure Ryhor Kastusyou, who was suffering from cancer.