Belarus rights group says 10 ill political prisoners have been freed

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Belarusian human rights group says at least 10 political prisoners have been freed since the country’s authoritarian president this week promised to release seriously ill people who were put behind bars in connection with massive protests nearly four years ago. Pavel Sapelko of the Viasna rights group told The Associated Press that none of those released are well-known figures whose release has been sought by the West. Viasna counts more than 1,400 political prisoners in the country, including Viasna’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning founder Ales Bialiatski.