Capital punishment in Belarus, analytics, Petition against the Death Penalty in Belarus
Belarus is the last country in Europe and former Soviet Union that is still carrying out the death penalty. Amnesty International, Human Rights Centre “Viasna”, Belarusian Helsinki Committee and other human rights defenders in Belarus oppose the death penalty in all cases without exception. The death penalty is a violation of the right to life, guaranteed by the Constitution of Belarus and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Nothing can justify the purposeful and ruthless taking of a human life by State.
The death penalty is a destructive and divisive public policy that has been shown to have no special deterrent effect on crime. It distracts from effective measures being taken against criminality through promoting simplistic responses to complex human problems. It denies the possibility of rehabilitation and reconciliation. It prolongs the suffering of the murder victim’s family, and extends that suffering to the relatives of the condemned prisoner. Amnesty International, Human Rights Centre “Viasna”, Belarusian Helsinki Committee does not seek to belittle the suffering of the families of murder victims, and recognizes and endorses a government’s duty to protect the rights of all people under its jurisdiction. However, executions are a symptom of a culture of violence rather than a solution to it. By executing a person the state commits a premeditated killing and shows a similar readiness to use physical violence as the criminal.
In Belarus the use of the death penalty is compounded by a flawed criminal justice system that administers capital punishment in a manner that violates international laws and standards pertaining to the death penalty. There is credible evidence that torture and ill-treatment are used to extract “confessions”; condemned prisoners may not have access to effective appeal mechanisms; and the inherently cruel, inhuman and degrading nature of the death penalty is compounded for death row prisoners and their relatives by the secrecy surrounding the death penalty. Neither prisoners nor their families are told the execution date in advance and prisoners must live with the fear that every time their cell door opens they may be taken for execution.
We call on the President and Parliament of Belarus to immediately declare a moratorium on death sentences and executions as a first step towards full abolition of the death penalty.
The number of signatories 17 565
Name | Country | Date of fill |
---|---|---|
Eliane Künzle | St. Gallen, Switzerland | 16.05.2011 |
Brütsch Meret | Herzogenbuchsee, Switzerland | 16.05.2011 |
Malherbe Patricia | Lausanne - SUISSE | 16.05.2011 |
Ales' Reznikau | Mensk | 16.05.2011 |
Meier Bettina | Buttikon SZ, Switzerland | 16.05.2011 |
Михаил Городецкий | Киев | 15.05.2011 |
Köpfli , Pascal | Luzern , Switzerland | 15.05.2011 |
Olivier Dewarrat | Monthey Switzerland | 14.05.2011 |
Alison Chisholm Guenat | Berne, Switzerland | 14.05.2011 |
Краснюк Дмитрий | Минск | 13.05.2011 |
Маринич Мария | Минск | 13.05.2011 |
Moser Jean | CH-2300 La Chaux-de-Fonds - Switzerland | 12.05.2011 |
Patricia Ott | München, Germany | 10.05.2011 |
Пирен Реми | Швицарий | 10.05.2011 |
walter ludin | luzern, switzerland | 10.05.2011 |
List Lea | Switzerland | 09.05.2011 |
Annick Busset | Bern Switzerland | 09.05.2011 |
Amsler Benjamin | Renens, Switzerland | 09.05.2011 |
Инесса Михайловна Герасимович | Гомель | 09.05.2011 |
Iris, Stricker | Hettiswil, Switzerland | 09.05.2011 |
Савiч Зьмiцер | Светлагорск | 06.05.2011 |
Шпак-Рыжкаў Юрай-Міхал | Менск | 06.05.2011 |
Таццяна Бабич | Минск | 05.05.2011 |
Наталля Протман | Беларусь-Швейцарыя | 04.05.2011 |
Владимир Качмар | Львов | 02.05.2011 |
Шевченко Ольга | Киев | 02.05.2011 |
Babette Irgmaier | Rosenheim, Deutschland | 01.05.2011 |
Paerli Laurence | Genève Suisse | 01.05.2011 |
bonnelie | france | 01.05.2011 |
Mariia Teimurazian | Kyiv, Ukraine | 30.04.2011 |
Аня Пагуда | Маладзечна | 29.04.2011 |
Віка Пагуда | Маладзечна | 29.04.2011 |
Ларыса Пагуда | Маладзечна | 29.04.2011 |
Abhervé, Aurélia | Champéry, Switzerland | 28.04.2011 |
Велитченко Александр | Минск | 28.04.2011 |
Neuhaus Marco | St. Silvester, Switzerland | 26.04.2011 |
Аляксей Казанцаў | Жодзіна | 26.04.2011 |
Вера Снитко | Минск | 25.04.2011 |
Michail Vashkevich-Bulgaria. | Sofia. | 25.04.2011 |
Brun, Cornelia | Bremgarten, Schweiz | 24.04.2011 |
Alena Alaverdziyeva | Витебск | 23.04.2011 |
Аляксей Кліменка | Мінск | 23.04.2011 |
Панина Александра | Минск | 22.04.2011 |
Голодняк Олег | Киев | 21.04.2011 |
Künzler Fanny | Suisse | 21.04.2011 |
Kaj Niggli | Basel, Switzerland | 21.04.2011 |
Владислав Гладкий | Минск | 20.04.2011 |
Kammerlander Marie | Lausanne, Switzerland | 20.04.2011 |
Gottraux Stéphane | Meyrin Suisse | 20.04.2011 |
Ammann, Hans-Jakob | Baden, CH | 19.04.2011 |
Antezana, Camilo | Zürich, Switzerland | 19.04.2011 |
Stierli, Andrea | Zürich, Switzerland | 19.04.2011 |
Павловский Кирилл | Минск | 18.04.2011 |
cotting anne-marie | swizzerland | 17.04.2011 |
Iosca Aline | Lenzburg , Switzerland | 17.04.2011 |
Ariana Klemm | Berlin, Germany | 17.04.2011 |
SUSAN ORBAN | KAISERAUGST, SCHWEIZ | 17.04.2011 |
KARIM ORBAN | KAISERAUGST, SCHWEIZ | 17.04.2011 |
TONY FERRARI | KAISERAUGST, SCHWEIZ | 17.04.2011 |
ROLF KÖNIG | KAISERAUGST, SCHWEIZ | 17.04.2011 |
DORIS KÖNIG | KAISERAUGST, SCHWEIZ | 17.04.2011 |
ILONA ARCES | KAISERAUGST, SCHWEIZ | 17.04.2011 |
STEFANO GALLI | KAISERAUGST, SCHWEIZ | 17.04.2011 |
DAVIDE GALLI | KAISERAUGST, SCHWEIZ | 17.04.2011 |
FILIPPO GALLI | KAISERAUGST, SCHWEIZ | 17.04.2011 |
IRENE WAHL | KAISERAUGST, SCHWEIZ | 17.04.2011 |
CARMEN ARCES | KAISERAUGST, SCHWEIZ | 17.04.2011 |
SIMON ARCES | KAISERAUGST, SCHWEIZ | 17.04.2011 |
SONNTAG CATRINE | KAISERAUGST, SCHWEIZ | 17.04.2011 |
BUETZBERGER PATRICK | KAISERAUGST, SCHWEIZ | 17.04.2011 |
BUETZBERGER MARKO | KAISERAUGST, SCHWEIZ | 17.04.2011 |
Kelava Maja | Switzerland | 16.04.2011 |
Iryna Entfellner | Austria, Gleisdorf | 15.04.2011 |
Ackermann Jakob | CH-9306 Freidorf, Switzerland | 14.04.2011 |
Ackermann Rosmarie | CH-9306 Freidorf, Switzerland | 14.04.2011 |
Таццяна Печанько | Заслаўе | 14.04.2011 |
vadzims salihovs | 1976 | 14.04.2011 |
Thomas Kupferschläger | Zierenberg Germany | 13.04.2011 |
Maret Frederic | Bagnes, Switzerland | 13.04.2011 |
Livia Bouvier | Suisse | 13.04.2011 |
HERAULT Laurent | FRANCE | 13.04.2011 |
Валерия Рачковская | Минск | 12.04.2011 |
Glatz Adrian | Cham, Switzerland | 12.04.2011 |
Goytizolo, Ricardo | Zurich, Switzerland | 12.04.2011 |
Eggertswyler Amélie | Fribourg,Suisse | 12.04.2011 |
Jason Bramlette | Fresno,Ca. U.S.A. | 12.04.2011 |
Gabriel Sevilla | Geneva, Switzerland | 12.04.2011 |
Paerli Laurence-H. | Genève Suisse | 11.04.2011 |
Laesser Claude | La Chaux-de-Fonds Switzerland | 11.04.2011 |
Laesser Margrit | La Chaux-de-Fonds Switzerland | 11.04.2011 |
Angelica Züst | Altdorf, Switzerland | 11.04.2011 |
Коваль Екатерина Владимировна | Киев | 11.04.2011 |
Мезенцев Леонид | Барановичи | 11.04.2011 |
Лиля Чулицкая | Киев | 11.04.2011 |
Мария Куц | Киев | 10.04.2011 |
Приймачук Христина | Київ | 10.04.2011 |
Бондарь Ольга | Москва | 10.04.2011 |
хоруженко анастасия | киев | 10.04.2011 |
Валерия Зализняк | Киев | 10.04.2011 |
Екатерина Казановская | Киев | 10.04.2011 |