BY EMMANUEL OGBONNA
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned another group of prisoners in what appears to be a continuing effort to ease tensions with the United States and reestablish diplomatic engagement with Western governments after years of political isolation.
According to a decree announced Thursday, Lukashenko granted clemency to 18 inmates, including 15 individuals who had been convicted on extremism-related charges. Belarusian authorities said 11 of those released were women. The government disclosed the information in an official statement posted online, though it provided few details about the identities of those pardoned or the specific circumstances surrounding their convictions.
Extremism charges have become one of the primary legal tools used by authorities in Belarus to prosecute government critics and political opponents, particularly since the political upheaval that followed the country’s disputed presidential election in 2020. Human rights groups have long argued that such charges are frequently applied in politically motivated cases against activists, journalists and opposition supporters.
The latest pardons are part of a broader series of prisoner releases that have taken place in recent months as Lukashenko attempts to improve relations with Washington. Belarus has faced years of diplomatic and economic pressure from Western countries following the controversial 2020 election, which Lukashenko claimed to have won by a landslide. The result was widely rejected by the opposition and by Western governments, sparking massive street protests across the country.
Authorities responded to those demonstrations with a sweeping crackdown that resulted in thousands of arrests, widespread reports of police violence and the imprisonment of many opposition figures. The repression left Lukashenko largely isolated on the international stage, with Western governments imposing sanctions targeting key sectors of the Belarusian economy.
In recent years, however, Lukashenko has signaled interest in repairing relations with the United States. Analysts say the gradual release of political prisoners has become one of the central elements of that diplomatic effort.
Since Lukashenko held a phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump in August, Belarusian authorities have freed a number of prominent detainees. The releases include Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski as well as well-known opposition figures Maria Kolesnikova and Viktar Babaryka, both of whom had become symbols of the country’s pro-democracy movement.
With the latest pardons, more than 140 prisoners have now been released during the recent wave of clemency decisions.
The United States has responded by easing some economic restrictions on Belarus, including lifting sanctions that had been imposed on the country’s major potash fertilizer industry and on its national airline, Belavia. Potash exports are a vital source of revenue for Belarus, making the move a significant economic relief for the government.
John Coale, the U.S. special envoy for Belarus, welcomed the newest pardons and described them as another positive step in the evolving relationship between the two countries.
Writing on social media Thursday, Coale said the releases represent “another notable step in the relationship between the U.S. and Belarus,” adding that President Trump had directed him to work toward securing the freedom of all political prisoners in the country.
Despite the recent releases, human rights advocates say the situation inside Belarus remains deeply troubling. The Belarusian human rights organization Viasna reports that approximately 1,140 political prisoners are still being held in the country’s detention centers and prisons.
Activists argue that while some detainees have been freed, the government continues to arrest and prosecute new individuals under charges related to extremism, national security, or anti-government activity.
Recent events appear to reinforce those concerns. Earlier this week, Belarusian authorities sentenced well-known musician and poet Aleh Khamenka to three years in prison along with a substantial fine. Prosecutors accused him of engaging in extremist activities due to his collaboration with an independent radio station that has been banned by the government.
Khamenka was detained in June after security forces conducted a raid on his home. He has remained in custody for more than six months while awaiting trial. Supporters say the case reflects the government’s continued pressure on cultural figures who are perceived as sympathetic to opposition movements.
In another development this week, Belarusian officials designated the writers’ association PEN Belarus as an extremist organization. The group represents more than 100 writers and intellectuals and has long promoted freedom of expression and literary activity within the country.
The decision means that involvement with the organization could now expose members to criminal charges or other legal penalties.
Tatsyana Nyadbay, the head of PEN Belarus, described the move as deeply alarming. Speaking by phone, she warned that the designation could endanger writers who continue to live and work inside Belarus.
Nyadbay said the decision was “horrendous,” arguing that it places many authors at risk of prosecution simply for maintaining ties to the organization.
Among the members of PEN Belarus are several internationally recognized literary figures. They include Svetlana Alexievich, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2015, and Ales Bialiatski, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 for his work documenting human rights abuses.
Alexievich left Belarus following the protests that erupted after the 2020 election, joining a number of prominent intellectuals who went into exile amid the crackdown on dissent. Bialiatski, meanwhile, spent more than five years in prison before being released during the recent wave of pardons, a case that drew widespread condemnation from human rights groups around the world.
For Lukashenko, the ongoing prisoner releases may represent a calculated attempt to balance two competing goals: maintaining tight control over domestic political life while seeking a limited thaw in relations with Western governments.
Observers say the strategy could allow Belarus to reduce some of the economic pressure caused by sanctions while avoiding fundamental changes to its political system.
Whether the recent steps will lead to a lasting improvement in relations with the United States remains uncertain. For now, the releases have opened a narrow window for renewed dialogue, even as critics insist that meaningful political reform in Belarus remains far from reality.
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