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Lukashenko pardons four election protesters

© RIA NovostiAlexander Lukashenko
Alexander Lukashenko - Sputnik International
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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned four people who took part in mass protests after last year's disputed presidential election.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned four people who took part in mass protests after last year's disputed presidential election.

"Having considered a petition, Lukashenko pardoned four participants of the disturbances," the president's press service said.

The names of those released were not given.

Dozens of protesters were jailed in the months following a rally in December after Lukashenko, a former collective farm boss, won a fourth term in a poll that Western observers described as "flawed."

Andrei Sannikov, a high-profile opposition figure and presidential candidate, was among those jailed.

Sannikov was accused of organizing the December demonstration in the capital Minsk, in which hundreds were arrested and manhandled by police.

He was pardoned last month, along with eight others.

Hundreds of people were arrested throughout Belarus in July after street protests against Lukashenko's 16-year rule.

Lukashenko said the protests were an attempt to ferment a revolution.

The former Soviet republic is reeling from a severe financial crisis, and devalued its currency by 36% in May.

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