Pardoned Political Prisoners Begin to Be Released, Rights Defenders Say

Pardoned political prisoners in Belarus have begun to be released, according to human rights defenders.

“We are receiving the first reports that people from the list have started leaving colonies in Belarus,” the Dissidentby initiative said.

As of the morning, the initiative had reported that none of those on the pardon list had yet been released.

Yesterday, following talks between Alyaksandr Lukashenka and US President’s Special Envoy John Coale, it was announced that 250 political prisoners had been pardoned. Fifteen were transferred to Lithuania without documents, while the remaining 235 were expected to be released and remain in Belarus.