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Here’s more from Reuters on Lukashenko’s pardons this morning:
Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is assured of winning a new five-year term on Sunday. The exiled opposition says the vote is a sham because all his leading critics have been jailed or forced to flee the country.
Mass protests nearly swept Lukashenko from power after the last election in 2020, when Western governments backed the opposition’s assertion that he falsified the results and stole victory from its candidate, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. He used his security apparatus to crush the demonstrations, arresting tens of thousands of people.
Human rights group Viasna, which is banned in Belarus as an extremist organisation, says there are about 1,250 political prisoners in the country, even after the release of more than 250 in the past year. Many of those freed were sick, elderly or close to the end of their sentences.
Lukashenko issues pardons on eve of election
So let’s go straight to Minsk, where Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 15 prisoners in what state media called a humanitarian gesture, two days before an election in which he is set to extend his 31-year rule.
State media said Lukashenko had pardoned eight people convicted of extremist activity and seven sentenced for drug crimes. It did not give any of their names. Earlier this week, he signed a decree raising pensions by an average of 10%.
Political analysts say Lukashenko is hoping to use the election and successive batches of prisoner releases to try to repair relations with the West, which has imposed waves of sanctions on Belarus over its human rights record and support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
His efforts have become more urgent, they say, as he contemplates the likelihood of Ukraine peace talks this year and tries to secure gains for himself and Belarus if the conflict comes to an end, Reuters reports.
Morning opening: Stay safe Ireland and focus on Belarus
Jakub Krupa
Over 700,000 premises are currently reported to be without power in Ireland this morning as Storm Éowyn, expected to be one of the most dangerous in history, makes landfall.
The entire island of Ireland is under a red weather warning this morning. Later today, tricky weather conditions could also affect parts of continental Europe, including northern France.
We are covering the weather situation on our special blog:
Elsewhere in Europe, it looks like a fairly quiet day, which, given the intensity of the world this week, is good news.
We will take a look at Belarus, where Alexander Lukashenko will undoubtedly hail another hollow victory on Sunday.
I will also keep you up to date on:
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the Irish government formation process,
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the situation in Germany, where the campaign heats up ahead of next month’s parliamentary election,
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and all other key news stories from across the continent.
It’s Friday, 24 January 2025, and this is Europe live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.
If you are in Ireland, let us know - email me at [email protected] or message on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social or on X at @jakubkrupa.
