EPA-EFE/MIKHAIL METZEL / SPUTNIK / KREMLIN POOL

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 30 prisoners “convicted of crimes connected to protest” on Friday, state news agency BELTA reported.

While no names have been provided so far by the presidential press service, the list is known to include 14 women and 16 men, some of whom are suffering from “serious diseases”, the agency wrote, adding that all prisoners had “admitted guilt”, “repented” and “undertaken to lead a law-abiding life”.

Lukashenko’s pardon was “a chance for these individuals to rehabilitate themselves before society and the state”, the agency added.

This is a developing story.