Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has signed a decree granting clemency to 20 individuals convicted of crimes related to extremism, according to a statement from the president’s press office.
The statement mentioned that all the pardoned individuals had requested clemency and expressed remorse for their actions.
Among those pardoned, 11 are women, 14 suffer from chronic illnesses, 10 are parents, and one woman is the mother of four children.
The Interior Ministry will monitor their behavior after their release.
This is not the first time Lukashenko has granted pardons for extremist-related convictions. In November, he pardoned more than 30 individuals convicted on similar charges, and several other prisoners had received clemency earlier. Lukashenko stressed that the pardons for those involved in the 2020 protests were motivated by humanitarian reasons, not an attempt to improve relations with Western countries.
