Belarusian government grants amnesty to thousands of prisoners — but not to 2020 protest participants

Deputies from the Belarusian National Assembly's House of Representatives voted Thursday to pass a law that will grant amnesty to 4,545 people, according to the parliament’s press service.

The list of pardon recipients includes people serving various sentences for multiple different types of crimes, including 1,600 people currently in penal colonies. An additional 3,950 convicts will have their sentences reduced by one year.

“One of the features of this bill is the opportunity for a second chance for minors convicted under drug trafficking laws,” Marina Lenchevskaya, one of the bill’s authors, said in a radio interview after the bill was passed.

According to the independent Belarusian news outlet Zerkalo, Lenchevskaya reported earlier that the amnesty law will not apply to people whose convictions are related to the anti-government protests that swept the country in 2020. She advised people convicted of crimes related to “extremism and terrorism” to seek pardons. In late September Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that “a handful” of political prisoners will be granted amnesty.