Human rights activists say there are about 1,400 people in prison in Belarus for voicing dissent against Lukashenko, who has run the country for 30 years.

He has intensified a crackdown on opponents since 2020, when mass protests broke out after he claimed victory in an election that the opposition and Western governments said was heavily rigged.

The veteran leader, who turned 70 last week, released 18 people from prison in early July and announced a pardon for 30 individuals on August 16.

So far, those freed include sick and elderly people, some of whom were in any case approaching the end of their sentences.

Among them were trade union leader Vasil Berasnieu, former opposition presidential candidate Ryhor Kastusioŭ, and Kseniya Lutskina, a former state TV journalist who is suffering from a brain tumor.

Belta did not name any of those pardoned in the latest batch but said they included 23 men and seven women. Most of them were parents of young children and minors, it said.

“This decision is a humane gesture towards these people. They have received a chance to return to normal life, to their families and work,” Belta quoted Lukashenko’s press service as saying.

The exiled opposition to Lukashenko says prisoner releases are welcome but do not signal a serious shift in policy.

According to the Belarus-based Viasna Human Rights Centre, the number of prosecutions in the country is actually rising, not falling, with at least 170 people convicted in July of politically related crimes.