September 16, Alexander Lukashenko signed a decree on pardoning 25 people, including those convicted of “crimes of extremist nature,” reports the state news agency BelTA with reference to Lukashenko’s press service.
It is noted that the pardon is timed to coincide with the official holiday – “Day of National Unity” on 17 September.
Among the pardoned are 12 women and 13 men; 19 people under the age of 40. Many of them have children, and one convict is a mother of many children. One of the pardoned “committed a crime as a minor.”
BelTA writes that “all of them admitted their guilt and repented of what they had done, as well as pledged to lead a law-abiding lifestyle.