At least six political prisoners pardoned in last few days – rights group

August 20, Pozirk. At least six political prisoners, including seriously ill ones, were pardoned and released in the last few days, the Viasna Human Rights Center said.

The news comes days after Alaksandar Łukašenka signed an edict to pardon 14 women and 16 men convicted of protest-related crimes.

Rights defenders do not identify the released prisoners for safety reasons.          

Earlier, MAYDAY.TEAM reported the release of at least 12 convicts, in a possible “second wave of amnesty,” following the release of 18 political prisoners in early July.

Opposition politician Ryhor Kastusioŭ who was serving a 10-year prison sentence, as well as Daria Łosik, Tamara Astrejka, Śviatłana Łupač, Kaciaryna Madziankova and Palina Pałavinka were among the first batch of prisoners released.

As of August 20, human rights defenders identified at least 1,366 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented.

Belarusian authorities have arrested about 65,000 people for political reasons in the four years since the August 2020 presidential election, Viasna reported in early August.