Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned 28 individuals convicted of "extremist crimes," a designation used by authorities in their crackdown on dissent. The announcement coincided with Belarus's Independence Day celebrations and is part of Lukashenko's broader strategy to mend relations with Western nations.
Lukashenko, who has governed Belarus for over three decades, has faced repeated sanctions from Western countries due to his administration's human rights record and for permitting Russia to utilize Belarusian territory for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022.
The country experienced widespread protests following the 2020 presidential election, which many viewed as fraudulent. The subsequent crackdown led to tens of thousands of detentions and numerous accounts of police brutality, with prominent opposition figures either fleeing the country or being imprisoned.
In recent years, mediated deals have led to the release of political prisoners. In March, as part of a U.S.-brokered agreement, Belarus released 250 political prisoners. In return, the U.S. lifted sanctions on two Belarusian state banks, the country's Finance Ministry, and removed major Belarusian potash producers from a sanctions list. Another agreement in April resulted in the release of journalist Andrzej Poczobut in a swap with Poland that freed a total of 10 individuals.
Despite these releases, the Viasna human rights center reports that 864 political prisoners, including 21 journalists, remain incarcerated in Belarus. A recent report from the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Belarus, Nils Muižnieks, indicated that despite the release of hundreds of political prisoners over the past year, there has been no overall improvement in the country's human rights situation. Muižnieks emphasized that "sustainable progress requires an end to politically motivated repression and accountability for past violations."
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, a Belarusian opposition leader based in exile, stated that while the release of the 28 prisoners offers relief to their families, "we mustn't forget that hundreds of political prisoners remain in Belarusian jails, and all of them must be released."