Belarus’ president pardons 30 political prisoners

Associated Press

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s press service says that the leader has pardoned 30 people who were serving prison sentences for “protest-related crimes.” Wednesday’s move was the third time in three months that the authoritarian leader has pardoned prisoners. There are about 1,400 political prisoners behind bars in Belarus including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and Polish newspaper journalist Andrzej Poczobut. The Viasna human rights center says at least six political prisoners have died behind bars.