Belarusian leader pardons 30 more political prisoners

Alexander Lukashenko, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, has signed a decree pardoning 30 political prisoners convicted of what the Belarusian authorities say are "protest-related crimes".

Seven women and 23 men have been pardoned, most of them parents of minors and young children.

The decree states that they have fulfilled the mandatory conditions for being pardoned: they applied for pardon, admitted their guilt, expressed sincere repentance, and have pledged to live in accordance with the law.

In late July, Lukashenko pardoned Rico Krieger, a German citizen who had been sentenced to death for supposedly working for the "Ukrainian special services". Krieger was among the political prisoners swapped between Western countries and Russia on 1 August.

On 16 August, Lukashenko signed a decree pardoning 30 other people convicted of "protest-related crimes". 14 women and 16 men were released, including people of retirement age and some who were seriously ill.