Most likely, the persecution of "home chemists" has stopped, but no one — or almost no one — has been released from penal colonies.
On March 5, Alexander Lukashenka signed a decree pardoning 18 convicts. 15 of them were convicted under political articles. 11 of those pardoned are women. There is a woman in the last stages of pregnancy. There is a girl who was arrested at 16 years old. There are two married couples.
US Special Representative for Belarus John Koole thanked Lukashenka, but reminded that Trump had instructed to release all political prisoners.
Belarusian authorities traditionally do not say who is included in the group of pardoned individuals, leaving intrigue — has anyone actually been released at all?
It appears that the pardon of March 5, 2026, almost completely repeats the pre-New Year's pardon that took place on December 30, 2025. Most likely, both then and now, it primarily concerns "home chemists". They are also convicted under political articles, were also illegally repressed, but are not among the "1200 political prisoners" mentioned by Trump and human rights defenders.
"Nasha Niva" questioned women who were recently released from women's penal colonies in Gomel and Zarechcha. They do not know of any other pregnant women (especially in the last stage of pregnancy), apart from Natallia Levaya, who was individually pardoned on February 19, 2026. And it's difficult, almost impossible, to hide such information in a confined space.
There is no evidence of anyone from the married couples being released from colonies — and the number of such convicted spouses is, naturally, small.
As for the pardoned girl who was imprisoned at 16 years old, there are two options here. If she is a political prisoner, then by age she only matches Aliaksandra Pulіnovіch. The girl was sentenced to 10 years and 3 months of imprisonment in the "Black Nightingales" case — a group of young people united into a cell led by 16-year-old Ukrainian Mariya Mіsyuk to help Ukraine. Misyuk was sent back to her homeland in November 2025.
Pulіnovіch is the second girl in the "Nightingales"; the rest are boys. Their sentence came into effect in February 2026. If Pulіnovіch was indeed pardoned, it is possible that she had not yet reached the penal colony. In that case, she could have been released from the pre-trial detention center (SIZO).
However, theoretically, some non-political girl could also have been pardoned.
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