President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 52 prisoners who were serving sentences in the republic for extremism, terrorism and participation in riots. This was reported to TASS by the press secretary of the President of the Republic of Belarus Natalia Eismont.
"Yes, 52 people have been pardoned by the President of Belarus today. Based on the principles of humanism. The age of the convicts, the state of health, and family reunification issues were also taken into account," she said.
Among those pardoned are "leaders and participants of extremist, terrorist organizations, participants in mass riots, representatives of extremist and destructive media," Eismont added. According to her, today they have already left the territory of the republic.
As EADaily reported, in August, US President Donald Trump, after a telephone conversation with Lukashenko, expressed hope for the release of another 1.3 thousand Belarusian prisoners.
Today, the issue was raised by the representative of the American leader, John Cole, who arrived in Minsk. During the conversation, Lukashenko agreed to discuss with him the possibility of releasing some convicts.
"If Donald insists that he is ready to take all these freed people to himself, God be with you, let's try to work out a global deal. As Mr. Trump likes to say, a big deal. That's what he calls it. Therefore, I frankly say that we are not hiding anything here," Lukashenko said.