Belarus frees more prisoners after US envoy's visit

Sept 16 - Belarus has begun a new round of pardons for political prisoners following talks between President Alexander Lukashenko and U.S. envoy John Coale, human rights group Viasna said on Wednesday.

Coale was quoted by Belarusian state news agency Belta as saying the two sides had reached an interim agreement. He said Belarus would release 25 people and the United States would lift sanctions on two Belarusian companies.

Viasna said the relatives of some prisoners had been told they could collect their loved ones from penal colonies on Wednesday morning.

The U.S. opened talks last year with Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and has been easing sanctions on Belarus in return for the prisoner releases.

Viasna, which is banned in Belarus, says the former Soviet state still holds more than 900 political prisoners, even after Coale negotiated the release of hundreds since the middle of last year.

Among the most frequent charges against them are "extremist" activity, conspiring to seize power, incitement to hatred, or insulting the president.

At Tuesday's talks with Coale, Lukashenko denied the people in question were political prisoners and rejected assertions by rights groups and the exiled opposition that he is steadily arresting more people to replace those he releases. REUTERS