Lukashenko Pardons 30 Protesters Amid Ongoing Belarus Crackdown

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has granted pardons to 30 individuals convicted for participating in anti-government protests, his office announced on Friday. The pardoned group includes 14 women and 16 men, some of whom are elderly or suffering from serious illnesses. The announcement did not disclose their identities.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled leader of the Belarusian opposition, praised the move but emphasized her commitment to securing the release of all nearly 1,400 political prisoners still held in Belarus. The 2020 presidential election, which Lukashenko claimed victory in for a sixth term, was widely condemned as fraudulent, sparking the largest protests in Belarus’s post-Soviet history.

Lukashenko’s regime responded with a violent crackdown, arresting over 35,000 people and sentencing many opposition figures to long prison terms. Despite the ongoing repression, Tsikhanouskaya vowed to continue the fight until every political prisoner is freed.