Фото: Reform.by
Aliaksandr Lukashenka has signed a decree pardoning 15 convicted people, including 13 people convicted of “extremist-related crimes,” his press service reported. Ten of those pardoned are women.
It is claimed that all of them “submitted petitions for clemency, admitted their guilt, repented of what they had done, and promised to lead law-abiding lives.”
Lukashenka’s press service did not specify which prisoners were pardoned. Those released may include people sentenced to so-called “khimiya” (restricted freedom) or people who are not included on lists of political prisoners.
Accusations of extremism are used in Belarus to persecute Lukashenka’s opponents and suppress dissent more broadly.