{"id":137387,"date":"2025-05-09T16:35:37","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T13:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/137387\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"us-embassy-welcomes-pardon-of-42-political-prisoners","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/137387\/","title":{"rendered":"US embassy welcomes pardon of 42 political prisoners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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May 9, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> The United States Embassy in Belarus has welcomed the recent pardon of 42 people convicted in politically-motivated cases in a post on X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We view this as a positive step, and look forward to the day when all 1,200+ political prisoners in the country are free,” the message noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The call follows a similar one by Anouar-El-Anouni, the EU spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy, who urged Minsk to release all political prisoners unconditionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 7, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka pardoned 18 women and 24 men convicted in politically-motivated cases in connection with the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since July 2024, \u0141uka\u0161enka has pardoned 292 political prisoners. At least 8,234 people have been prosecuted on political grounds since 2020, with 6,940 convicted and at least 33 sent for compulsory treatment, the Viasna Human Rights Center said in a recent report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of May 9, human rights defenders identified at least 1,176 political prisoners but the real number is considerably higher because many cases go undocumented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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