Belarus to amnesty thousands of prisoners
President Alyaksandr Lukashenka announced 12 June a mass prisoner amnesty on the country’s Independence Day, 3 July, RIA Novosti reports.
The amnesty is a signal to society and an encouragement to those prisoners who seem to be on the path to rehabilitation, Lukashenka said, according to Telegraf.by. Categories of prisoners likely to be freed include pregnant women, mothers, and young people, state broadcaster TVR said.
Interior Minister Igor Shunevich estimated that 2,500 prisoners would be freed, according to RIA Novosti. He also denied the existence of political prisoners, although Lukashenka was quoted by the Belta state news agency as saying the amnesty would not apply to “the people who do not qualify, including for some political reasons.”
Two political dissidents were released in April after serving sentences for organizing protests following Lukashenka’s re-election in 2010.
This will be the 12th amnesty since 1991 and the first since 2010, when more than 2,000 prisoners were freed, according to TVR.
Read Around The Bloc on http://www.tol.org/client/article/23210-serbian-coalition-in-the-offing-lukashenka-to-free-thousands.html
Just Words 