A group of 15 political prisoners were pardoned by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko through a decree published on Monday, following negotiations held last week with the White House representative.
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John Cole, the American president’s representative, has held talks with Lukashenko for more than a year, securing the release of hundreds of people so far, including opposition figures, activists, journalists and jurists. These releases have been secured in exchange for the easing of some US sanctions.
According to the human rights organization Viasna, 883 political prisoners remain in Belarusian prisons, convicted of offenses such as extremist activity, inciting hatred or insulting the head of state.
The Belarusian presidency announced that 10 of the 15 pardoned people are women, and that 13 of them had been implicated in “offenses of an extremist nature.” It also clarified that the amnesty measure came after these individuals had requested relief and expressed remorse for their actions.
This action marks another gradual step toward Cole’s goal of securing the release of all remaining political prisoners during the current year.
During his most recent visit a week ago, the American envoy secured the release of 25 people, including well-known journalists and activists, a figure significantly lower than the 250 releases reported during his previous visit in March.
According to analysts, the Belarusian leader is taking a tougher stance at the negotiating table, irritated by the fact that the easing of some US sanctions, especially those on potash — a vital source of export revenue for Belarus — has not been followed by a similar step by the European Union.
On the other hand, Lukashenko has also raised the demand for the unfreezing of between $43 million and $44 million in frozen Belarusian assets, which he claims are being held unfairly at Citibank. Cole gave assurances last week that he would treat this issue as a priority.
