By Mark Trevelyan (Reuters) -Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 15 prisoners on Friday in what state media called a humanitarian gesture, two days before an election in which he is set to extend his 31-year rule.

Belarus has more than 1,000 political prisoners, many of them detained during the mass protests that erupted after Lukashenko’s contentious re-election in 2020

Belarus' upcoming election, advanced from 2025, sees Alexander Lukashenko poised for a seventh term amidst a harsh suppression of dissent since 2020. Relying heavily on Russian support and hosting Russian tactical nuclear weapons,

Having missed almost four years of her son's life while incarcerated in a Belarusian prison, Irina Schastnaya still wants to zip up the 14-year-old's coat, struggling to digest how tall he grew in her absence.

Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya says the president was playing his ‘usual game’ of drip-feeding releases for rewards from the West.

Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 15 prisoners as a gesture before an election expected to extend his long rule. Critics call the election a sham with key opposition jailed. Lukashenko faces no serious challengers and aims to improve ties with the West amid heavy sanctions.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 15 prisoners on Friday in what state media called a humanitarian gesture, two days before an election in which he is set to extend his 31-year rule.