News
Judiciary said to be ready for death penalty abolition
Belarus’ judicial system is ready to introduce a moratorium on the death penalty, Supreme Court Chairman Valyantsin Sukala told reporters in Minsk on June 25. “If the constitution of Belarus describes this exceptional type of punishment as temporary, this clause will inevitably entail its abolition,” he said. Mr. Sukala said that a moratorium on capital punishment could be an intermediate stage, describing the measure as “quite realistic and well-founded.” Read more…
Hrodna human rights activists fight against death penalty
Members of Viasna’s Hrodna office held a three-day civil campaign against the death penalty. The action was joined by several other opposition activists, including members of the UCPB, Young Democrats and the Civil Forum. The activists distributed calendars with an inscription ‘Belarus is the only European country, which still uses the death penalty.’ They also informed local residents of the situation with the death penalty both in Europe and in Belarus. Read more…
Head of Lukashenka’s administration Makei speaks on death penalty moratorium
Uladzimir Makei, head of the Administration of President Lukashenka, has promised to declare a moratorium on executing death penalties in Belarus in case the country establishes close relationships with the Council of Europe. ‘In case Belarus decides to join the Council of Europe, we will have to raise the issue of introducing a moratorium on the death penalty,’ says Mr.Makei. ‘The issue of the death penalty should not be considered as something stiff. I have had a meeting with Mr.Rigoni, PACE Special Rapporteur on Belarus, and we were discussing the issue for a long time. We have already reduced the number of criminal articles providing for the death penalty, and in practice the sentence has begun to be seldom used. Read more…
Deputy head of the presidential administration: the introduction of moratorium on death penalty is possible
The question of introduction of moratorium on death penalty in Belarus is at the stage of discussion, stated the deputy head of the presidential administration Valer Mitskevich. Read more…
Liavon Volski: ‘We will not change anything by killing a man who has committed even a very terrible crime. Besides, it will cause more bloodthirstiness’
The founder of the rock-bands Mroya, NRM and the musical project Krambambulia Liavon Volski has joined the campaign against the death penalty, launched by the Belarusian human rights defenders. Read more…
‘Death’ was walking on Niamiha in the company of policemen in mufti
On 5 June several volunteers of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee tried held a theatric performance for abolishment of the death penalty in Belarus. Read more…
Hanna Khitryk: ‘The state must not kill people. The state is the people who we elected, who we rely on and who we trust. If the people who we trust will be assassins, what people are they and what people are we if we have elected them?’
The actor of Yanka Kupala National Theater Hanna Khitryk, songwriter of the Detidetey rock band has jointed the campaign against the death penalty in Belarus. Expressing her opinion on this issue, Hanna pointed that ‘to wish somebody death is to spoil oneself… and if you are for the death penalty, you are also for war’. Read more…
Belarus may consider declaring moratorium on death penalty, says MP Hlaz
According to Anatol Hlaz, deputy of the House of Representatives and vice-head of Human Rights, National Relations and Mass Media Parliamentary Committee, the Belarusian authorities may soon declare a moratorium on the death penalty. ‘Now we can work out the necessary legislative grounds for declaring a moratorium on the death penalty,’ says Mr.Hlaz. He also stressed that it could ‘facilitate establishing a dialogue with Europe.’ Read more…
Mikhail Pastukhou: ‘The abolition of the death penalty is a sign of the state’s and the society’s achievement of a certain level of development when the human life is recognized as the supreme value not to be defied by anyone, including the state’
Mikhail Pastukhou, famous lawyer and human rights expert, head of the Legal Aid Center of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, ex-judge of the Belarusian Supreme Court (1994-1996), has joined the civil campaign promoting the abolition of the capital punishment in Belarus ‘Human Rights Activists against the Death penalty.’ He stresses that the issue is ripe and certain measures should be taken. Read more…
Viktar Rudenka: ‘The musical band 'Dali' is against the death penalty, because we understand that it is inhuman and is a non-democratic practice’
The leader of the Dali band Vitkar Rudenka signed the petition against the capital punishment in Belarus, the only country in Europe and in the post-Soviet space where this kind of punishment is still in use. All members of the band expressed their definite position on this issue: ‘Dali is against the death penalty!’ Read more…
Aliaksei Marachkin: ‘Life is given to us by God and we have no right to take it way, irrespective of how hard one’s crimes are’
The well-known Belarusian artist Aliaksei Marachkin, a founder of the association of artist, the chairman of the World Alliance of Belarusians Batskawshchyna, took part in the discussion of the capital punishment. He joined the campaign Human Rights activists against death penalty in Belarus and said why he thought it was necessary to abolish this kind of punishment. Read more…
Amnesty International presents report on death penalty in Minsk
On 24 March the international human rights organization Amnesty International presented its annual report on the use of the death penalty. The report underlines that Belarus is the only European country which still uses the capital punishment. Nicola Duckworth, Director of the AI Program for Europe and Central Asia, stresses that the death penalty is the most inhuman, cruel and degrading form of punishment: ‘There is no room for hanging, beheading, electrocution, lethal injection or lapidating in the 21th century.’ Read more…
Amnesty International to launch reports calling for the abolition of the death penalty
On 24 March 2009, Amnesty International will release its global death penalty statistics, looking at how many people were executed or sentenced to death across the world during 2008. On the same day in a separate report, Ending executions in Europe: Towards abolition of the death penalty in Belarus, the human rights organization will call on the last state in Europe and Central Asia that still sentences people to death and executes them to follow the global trend and abolish the death penalty. Read more…
Human rights defenders are concerned with P.Miklashevich’s statement about possible referendum on abolishment of death penalty
‘According to the Constitution, abolishment of death penalty in Belarus can be decided only by means of referendum,’ stated the head of the Constitutional Court of Belarus Piatro Miklashevich at the press-conference of 11 March. As said by him, ‘a special provision has been put in the Constitution concerning the abolishment of death penalty’, Interfax informs. Read more…
Human Rights Defenders against Capital Punishment: first results of the campaign
The Human Rights Defenders against Capital Punishment in Belarus campaign started a month ago. For this period of time 11 famous people of Belarus signed the petition to the Belarusian authorities: The head of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Belarus of the 12th convocation Mechyslau Hryb, the head of the Belarusian Association of Journalists Zhana Litvina, the writers Uladzimir Arlou, Sviatlana Aleksiyevich and Adam Hlobus, the musicians Kasia Kamotskaya, Uladzimir Puhach and Zmitser Vaitsiushkevich, the TV and radio hosts Zinaida Bandarenka, Tamara Lisitskaya and Katsiaryna Pytleva. While signing the petition each of them expressed his/her attitude to this issue and drew arguments for abolishment of death penalty. Read more…
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