{"id":114818,"date":"2024-11-21T12:02:11","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T09:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/114818\/"},"modified":"2024-11-21T12:02:14","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T09:02:14","slug":"lukasenka-frees-political-prisoners-to-lend-his-authoritarian-rule-a-humane-touch","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/114818\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0141uka\u0161enka frees political prisoners to lend his authoritarian rule a humane touch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Since July 2024, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka has pardoned dozens of political prisoners as arrests and trials of dissidents continue unabated.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n\n Maryja Kale\u015bnikava, a prominent political prisoner, meets with her father at a Homiel prison hospital unit on November 12\n <\/div>\n \n
\n (Raman Pratasievi\u010d\u2019s Telegram channel)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kale\u015bnikava meets with father after 18 months incommunicado<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Maryja Kale\u015bnikava, a high-profile political prisoner, was allowed to meet with her father at the prison hospital on November 12 after being held incommunicado for 18 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meeting took place after Steven Rosenberg of the BBC <\/em>asked \u0141uka\u0161enka about her condition during a recent interview, and Kale\u015bnikava\u2019s father submitted a written request for a visit to his daughter to the Belarusian ruler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This development highlights the plight of political prisoners in Belarus, where prison visits are only possible with the personal permission of the head of state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka bristled at Rosenberg’s question about Kale\u015bnikava during the October 23 interview. “I am categorically against you singling people out like that,” he responded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kale\u015bnikava\u2019s persecution exposes the falseness of \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s repeated claims that he does not target women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His personal approval for the visit confirms that it was he who ordered her and other key political prisoners to be held incommunicado.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He even blamed Kale\u015bnikava\u2019s loved ones for not showing enough concern for her. “Do you even know where her family is? Her father asked to visit her. No problem. He was granted a visit. Can he be considered the family? If anyone else wants to visit her and they make a request, we will consider it. You care about her more than her family and friends do,” he told Rosenberg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pardons and escalating repression<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka has claimed that there are no political prisoners in Belarus, citing the absence of \u201cpolitical\u201d offenses in the criminal code. However, his press office and state propaganda channels have emphasized that those released were convicted of “protest-related” crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between July and September 2024, \u0141uka\u0161enka pardoned 115 political prisoners\u2014an unprecedented number for Belarus. Rather than issuing a single edict, prisoners were released in batches over three months to make the process more visible to his target audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The July-September pardons were followed by a two-month break, during which authorities likely waited for a response and assessed the consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On November 7, he pardoned another group of 31 political prisoners, coinciding with the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. The Belarusian leader pardoned 32 prisoners convicted of \u201cextremism-related crimes\u201d on November 20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, between July 3 and September 16, human rights defenders documented 142 new political prisoners, while 115 political prisoners were released in the same period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Repression escalated in the lead-up to the January 21-26 presidential election. Mass arrests of 2020 protestors were reported across the country, seen as a preemptive move to quell any resistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State media outlets have withheld information about the crackdown, instead offering extensive coverage of \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s clemency edicts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state-controlled TV channels, the Belarus Segodnya<\/em> newspaper, and the BelTA<\/em> state-run news agency rarely report on politically motivated arrests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Details of arrests and forced confessions have been posted by security forces on Telegram channels as a means of intimidating opponents. Notably, security forces stopped publishing confession videos after the government set the presidential election date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many ordinary Belarusians, who rely on state media for information, remain unaware of the political repression, as state propaganda outlets present a surreal picture of a prosperous nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prisoner releases to sway public opinion and test the West\u2019s willingness to negotiate<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s decision to release some political prisoners appears to be a bid to cast himself as a more humane leader in the run-up to the election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even his supporters are uneasy about political prisoners dying in jail. As a result, he has freed mainly older and seriously ill inmates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although \u0141uka\u0161enka has denied it, the pardons are widely seen as an overture to the West. “No, this is not a step to improve relations with you. If you don\u2019t want a relationship with us, that\u2019s fine. We will survive without you. You are of no importance to me when it comes to freeing my people,” he told the BBC<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assertion by negation is typical of his style. He seems to be hoping that, in return, the West will recognize him as the legitimate president of Belarus after the 2025 poll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another motive is his desire to participate in potential peace talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the West, something he has publicly articulated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka is expecting the West to move on after the 2020 fraudulent election and accept him as the reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has signaled this by releasing small groups of political prisoners to test the EU\u2019s and US’s willingness to negotiate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the West has welcomed these gestures, it has also called for an end to repression and the release of all political prisoners. Western governments refuse to engage with \u0141uka\u0161enka, but it remains uncertain whether they will maintain this stance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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