Self-proclaimed Belarusian president pardons 42 political prisoners ahead of Victory Day

Alexander Lukashenko, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, has pardoned 42 individuals convicted under charges of so-called "extremism".

Source: Belarusian news outlet Zerkalo.io, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Lukashenko’s press service announced that he pardoned 42 people "on the eve of Victory Day celebrations" on 9 May. The statement claims those pardoned had "admitted their guilt and expressed remorse".

Among those released are 18 women and 24 men, of which 10 are over the age of 50 and 13 suffer from chronic illnesses.

This is the first round of pardons in 2025 and the seventh since June 2024. The previous one took place in December 2024.

On 9 January, a Belarusian court sentenced Mykola Khil, an employee of the EU Delegation in Belarus, to four years in prison.

In late April, Belarus also released a US citizen who had been accused of plotting an assassination attempt on Lukashenko.

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