Belarus Pardons 30 Prisoners Sentenced for Protests

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday pardoned 30 prisoners convicted over protests, the presidential website said.

Lukashenko "signed a decree pardoning 30 people convicted for crimes related to protests," the statement said, without giving names.

Those pardoned are 14 women and 16 men, the site added: "Some of them have serious illnesses. There are people of retirement age."

All those pardoned "admitted guilt, sincerely repented for what they did and committed to a law-abiding way of life," the statement added.

Moscow-ally Lukashenko crushed mass pro-democracy protests after an election on Aug. 9, 2020, in which the government was widely condemned for having allegedly falsified results.

Leading rights group Viasna estimates Belarus has around 1,400 political prisoners. Thousands more people have fled the country.

In July, 18 political prisoners were amnestied or released on exchange, according to Viasna.

Lukashenko last month pardoned a German man, Rico Krieger, sentenced to death on espionage charges, who was exchanged in a large-scale prisoner swap involving the US and Russia.