Belarus Pardons Dissident Activists, Including Roman Protasevich and Ales Byalyatski.
Belarusian dissident journalist Raman Pratasevich, who was sentenced to eight years in prison for organizing unrest and plotting to seize power, has reportedly received a presidential pardon. Pratasevich was arrested in May 2021 after his Ryanair flight was forced to land in Minsk. He ran a Telegram messaging app channel that was widely used by participants in mass protests against the disputed August 2020 election. The protests were the longest and largest demonstration of opposition to authoritarian Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko since he took power in 1994.
