Belarus pardons 42 political prisoners

WARSAW: Belarus on Wednesday pardoned 42 political prisoners as part of an amnesty by President Alexander Lukashenko ahead of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, state media and exiled rights groups said.

Lukashenko forcefully suppressed mass protests against his decades-long rule in 2020, following an election that rights groups and critics said was rigged, with thousands jailed or forced into exile. Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, announced a series of pardonings ahead of his re-election for a seventh straight term in January.