31 political prisoners released by pardon on November 7 Updated

On November 7 it became known that 31 more political prisoners were pardoned in Belarus. This was reported by the official Telegram channel of Aliaksandr Lukashenka. It is reported that two women and 29 men were pardoned. For the safety of the prisoners, we continue to maintain information silence, so we are not yet publishing the names of those released. On November 15, propagandists revealed some names of those pardoned.

It is reported that 17 of those pardoned have chronic diseases, three people have disabilities, 27 prisoners have children, seven of them are parents with many children.

According to Lukashenka's official channel, the political prisoners were pardoned without expunging their criminal record.

"The Ministry of Internal Affairs will ensure that their law-abiding behavior is monitored."

Updated. On November 15, the names of some of those pardoned were announced: Aliaksandr Boika, Aliaksei Yarashevich, Katsiaryna Shablinskaya-Ivanova, Eduard Isayeu, Beliamuk (likely Dzmitry and Yauhen; it is unclear who among them has been released).

• Aliaksandr Boika was detained on October 24, 2023. In a "confessional" video, he admitted to filming military equipment and posting it in a Telegram chat. Boika was charged under Part 1 of Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code (assisting extremist activities) and sentenced to two and a half years of imprisonment.

  

  Aliaksandr Boika

• Aliaksei Yarashevich was sentenced to two years of the restriction of freedom in an open penal facility for allegedly insulting Lukashenka under Part 1 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code. He was serving his term at open-type correctional facility-48.

• Katsiaryna Shablinskaya-Ivanova, a single mother, was sentenced to two years in a penal colony under three articles of the Criminal Code: Article 130 (inciting social hatred), Part 3 of Article 361 (calls for sanctions), and Article 342 (active participation in group actions grossly violating public order). She was listed as a "terrorist" and held in Homieĺ penal colony No. 4.

• Eduard Isayeu, an employee of Grodno Azot, was detained in 2022. He was sentenced to three and a half years in a penal colony for "insulting Lukashenka" and "slandering him" under Articles 368 and 367 of the Criminal Code. Isayeu served his term in Babrujsk penal colony No. 2. He is known to have young children.

Previously, it was reported that geography teacher Ruslan Sadounichy was also pardoned. Sadounichy had taught geography at a school and was a member of a local election commission in 2020, where he refused to sign the election report. He was sentenced to three and a half years in a penal colony for "insulting a government official," "inciting hatred," and "violence or threats of violence against an official." In January 2023, a new criminal case was initiated against him for similar charges. Sadounichy has a visual impairment and two children.

Since July 3, 2024, this is the fifth wave of pardons of political prisoners. A total of 146 people have been released.

Inform human rights defenders about released political prisoners on @Viasnainfo