Belarus leader pardons 18 prisoners in an effort to improve ties with US

Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned 18 more prisoners as part of his recent effort at a rapprochement with the United States

TALLINN, Estonia -- Belarus' authoritarian president has pardoned 18 more prisoners as part of his recent effort at a rapprochement with the United States.

In a decree announced on Thursday, President Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 18 prisoners, including 15 people convicted on extremism charges, which are widely used in Belarus in politically motivated prosecutions. A total of 11 pardoned prisoners are women, the authorities said in an online statement.

This is the latest in a series of prisoner releases, encouraged by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. Lukashenko, largely shunned by the West since his disputed reelection in 2020 that triggered mass protests and a brutal government crackdown in response, has sought to mend fences with Washington in recent years, including by releasing prisoners.

Since the two leaders spoke on the phone in August, Lukashenko has released 123 prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and prominent opposition figures Maria Kolesnikova and Viktar Babaryka. In response, the U.S. lifted sanctions off Belarus' potash fertilizer production and its flagship national airline, Belavia.

Those pardoned this week bring the number to more than 140. John Coale, the U.S. special envoy for Belarus, hailed the move on X Thursday as “another notable step in the relationship between the U.S. and Belarus as President Trump has tasked me with getting all the political prisoners out.”