Aleksandr Lukashenko pardoned 13 prisoners convicted of “extremist crimes,” amid renewed dialogue with Washington

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned 13 prisoners convicted of what authorities call “extremist crimes,” the presidential office in Minsk announced Thursday. The list of those released was not published.

The presidential decree provides for the pardoning of 15 convicted prisoners, 13 of them for offenses classified as extremist. Authorities said that 10 of those pardoned are women. In Belarus, the term is used for opponents and activists whom human rights organizations consider political prisoners.

The decision comes after Belarus released 25 other political prisoners last week in exchange for the lifting of U.S. sanctions imposed on two Belarusian companies. Since last year, hundreds of people have been released amid renewed dialogue between Minsk and Washington following Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

According to the Viasna human rights organization, 886 political prisoners remain in Belarusian prisons. Most were convicted after the massive protests of 2020, which erupted following the reelection of Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994. The Belarusian leader rejects the use of the term “political prisoner.”

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya warned the United States that resuming trade with Belarus could support Russia’s war machine against Ukraine. The warning came after Donald Trump announced that he was preparing a major deal to purchase Belarusian potash, used mainly as fertilizer.