On 24 September dictator Aliaksandr Lukashenka signed a decree pardoning 15 convicted people. The Telegram channel Pul Pervogo reported it. The press service and BelTA published the same text. Thirteen of them had been accused of crimes of an “extremist nature.” Most of those pardoned are women: ten.

According to the press service, all of them filed pardon petitions, admitted guilt, repented and promised to “lead a law-abiding life.” That is the wording of the official statement, not a finding by independent outlets. The names of those pardoned, and the charges they were convicted on, were not given. That is how these announcements usually go.

Eight days after the twenty-five

The decree came eight days after 16 September, when 25 political prisoners were released. The day before, on 15 September, Lukashenka met in Minsk with John Coale, the special envoy of the US president. Coale wrote that 25 people were free that day and that “we are not done yet.” Before the visit Belsat reported that about two hundred releases were expected. Twenty-five came out.

Those twenty-five were taken out of Belarus to Lithuania at once. Some later went on to Poland, to their families. On the US side, the talks were about lifting sanctions on Lakokraska and Bellesbumprom. Nothing of that kind was said about these fifteen. It is not known whether they left a prison colony, whether they stayed in the country, or whether rights groups count them as political prisoners at all.

Who they are is still unclear

Viasna wrote that 13 people had been convicted on political charges, and that the surnames were still being established. Nasha Niva also read the official phrase as a report about political prisoners.

The United Transitional Cabinet is asking people not to rush. Yulia Mitskevich, the cabinet’s representative for social policy, told REFORM.news that similar announcements have happened before, and that checks later found no recognized political prisoners among those released. An “extremist nature” does not by itself mean a person was prosecuted for politics. The fifteen may include people serving “khimiya” — restricted freedom in an open-type institution — and people who are not on rights groups’ lists. Until there are names, it is too early to treat the decree as a release of political prisoners.