[Source: Reuters]

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned 32 people who were convicted of extremism, according to the Pul Pervogo Telegram account which reports widely on his activities.

It was the sixth group of pardons issued this year, beginning in July by Lukashenko, who has been in power in the ex-Soviet state since 1994.

Human rights groups say more than 1,200 detainees labelled as political prisoners remain in detention more than four years after Belarusian authorities launched a crackdown against protesters opposing his election to a sixth term in office.

Lukashenko is running for a seventh term in office in January.

The Interior Ministry said police would conduct drills this week to ensure that “manifestations of extremism and terrorism” were prevented.

The post on Pul Pervogo did not identify any of those pardoned but said the group was made up of eight women and 24 men, all convicted on charges of extremism.

Pul Pervogo said all had admitted guilt and sought a pardon from the president. Seventeen had chronic illnesses, one was disabled, nine were older than 50, and 17 had children.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled opposition leader who ran against Lukashenko in the 2020 election, wrote on X that news of the latest pardon “fills my heart with joy”.

“However, we must see the harsh reality: repression continues & the number of political prisoners keeps growing,” she wrote.

Lukashenko has announced pardons of groups of those considered political prisoners, generally on grounds of ill health or advanced age.

Several prominent activists remain in prison. One of those, Maria Kalesnikava, was shown on social media this month being permitted to meet her father after not having been seen for well over a year.

Lukashenko’s 2020 election win triggered unprecedented demonstrations by protesters accusing him of rigging the poll.

Police action quelled the protests and human rights groups say some 30,000 were detained for various periods of time.