Mother of executed death convict Uladzislau Kavaliou files review appeal to Supreme Court
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- Liubou Kavaliova
Liubou Kavaliova demands the reversal of the death
sentence according to which Uladzislau Kavaliou and Dzmitry Kanavalau were
executed on charges in committing a terrorist act in the Minsk metro on 11
April 2012.
“The appeal lists the violations admitted during the investigation and the
court proceeding, and I consider as necessary holding a new, fair trial of the
case. I understand that after the execution the only thing I can do is to
protect the good name of my son. However, I also remember that it is necessary
to find the real organizers of the explosion,” she says.
The volume of the complaint is more than 50 pages. It contains enumeration of
violations of the Criminal-Process Code, the motions which were not granted by
the court, violations of the right to defense (when the counsel wasn’t admitted
to the investigative isolator), violation of the right to appeal (when Kavaliou
wasn’t allowed to meet with his counsel on the eve of the execution), etc. Many
photo and video materials and freeze-frames from recordings of the surveillance
cameras in the metro are attached to the appeal.
“The appeal was accepted, but the judge didn’t even look it through – he
immediately put it aside. He said that it was accepted for consideration, so I
will be waiting for an answer during one-month period,” said Liubou Kavaliova.
The fact that Uladzislau Kavaliou’s testimony given under pressurization and in
the absence of counsel was considered during the trial is mentioned too, though
physical injuries were registered on his body during the preliminary
investigation. During the trial Kavaliou refused from the testimony, saying he
was innocent and had to perjure himself and Dzmitry Kanavalau because physical
force was used against him. Psychological pressurization was exercised too, as
far as at the trial he stated that people who introduced themselves as KGB
officers visited him during the preliminary investigation, but the content of
their talks with him wasn’t registered in any official documents.
The appeal also mentions the fact that the court granted the majority of the
accusation’s motions and dismissed the majority of the defense’s motions, which
witnesses that the trial wasn’t fair and impartial.
“The motive of the crime on the part of Uladzislau Kavaliou wasn’t defined. His
testimony during the preliminary investigation was obtained in
violation of the criminal procedure law, and therefore can not be the basis for
a conviction. While issuing the sentence to Kavaliou the court acted to the
detriment of his interests and the interests of society and the state, helping
to create a negative thought in the society of the entire judicial system,
creating fear and hatred of the judiciary,” reads the complaint.
