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Alexander Lukashenko pardons another 15 people, including 13 convicted of what Belarus calls ‘extremist’ crimes

Source: BelTA

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has signed a decree pardoning 15 people, according to BelTA.

Thirteen of them were convicted of what BelTA called “extremist offenses.” Ten of those pardoned are women. Their names were not disclosed.

BelTA noted that all 15 petitioned for pardons, admitted guilt, expressed remorse for what they had done, and “promised to lead law-abiding lives.”

Since 2025, Lukashenko has periodically released people convicted on political charges as part of an agreement with the U.S. to lift sanctions in exchange for their release. Those pardoned have included opposition leaders Viktor Babariko and Maria Kolesnikova, among many others. Hundreds of political prisoners remain in Belarus, however. The human rights group Viasna puts the number at more than 800.

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