Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 2, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleBelarusian President Lukashenko pardoned 16 people ahead of independence day. This move is seen as an attempt to improve relations with the West amid ongoing political tensions.
(Reuters) -Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned 16 people convicted of various crimes, including "extremism", ahead of the country's independence day, state media reported on Wednesday.
Human rights groups and the exiled opposition say there are about 1,150 political prisoners in Belarus, where Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has ruled for more than three decades.
The veteran leader has freed more than 300 people in the past year in an apparent effort to repair ties with the West, which has imposed sanctions on his government over its human rights record and backing for Putin's war in Ukraine.
Those pardoned in the latest batch include eight men and eight women, several of whom have chronic diseases, are disabled or have children under 18, state news agency Belta said.
Franak Viacorka, chief political adviser to exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, welcomed the releases but said it did not appear that any high-profile dissidents were among the 16.
He said that dozens of people had been sentenced for politically related offences in the past month, so "we don't see a big change of policy".
Viacorka told Reuters, however, that the opposition was hopeful of more releases in the coming weeks, after prominent opposition politician Siarhei Tsikhanouski was freed last month following talks between Lukashenko and U.S. presidential envoy Keith Kellogg.
"We have to continue, and we also ask President Trump to get involved and to push for more releases - he has the leverage to do this," Viacorka said.
(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan and Lucy PapachristouEditing by Andrew Osborn)
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 16 people convicted of various crimes, including extremism.
Human rights groups and the exiled opposition report that there are about 1,150 political prisoners in Belarus.
Franak Viacorka, chief political adviser to exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, welcomed the releases but noted that no high-profile dissidents were included.
Lukashenko has freed more than 300 people in the past year in an apparent effort to repair ties with the West, which has imposed sanctions on his government.
Viacorka expressed hope for more releases in the coming weeks, especially after the recent release of prominent opposition politician Siarhei Tsikhanouski.
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