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 |
---|---|---|
Olga Bykhovska | Kyiv | 30.03.2011 |
Hanna Dobrynska | Kyiv | 30.03.2011 |
Dominik Roblek | Zurich, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Остап Кучма | Киев | 30.03.2011 |
Елена Скрипник | Киев | 30.03.2011 |
Sauthier Françoise | Nidau Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Moesch, Beatrice | Cham, Schweiz | 30.03.2011 |
Maria Radziejowska | Warsaw, Poland | 30.03.2011 |
Brunner Dominique | Zurich, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Валентина Дудзяна | Львов Украина | 30.03.2011 |
Lein, Andreas | Zurich, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Burckhardt Sibylle | Ennetbaden Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Fretz Raphael | Oftringen, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Richard Claudine | Orbe, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Guerry Julie | Fribourg, Suisse | 30.03.2011 |
Katrin Moser | Zürich, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Linder, Jean-Marc | Vercorin, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Willi Feuerstein | Gaissau Austria | 30.03.2011 |
Isabel Günter | Zürich, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Дутка олена | Львів | 30.03.2011 |
Klauser Raphael | St.Gallen | 30.03.2011 |
Gnehm Claire | Romanel sur Lausanne - Suisse | 30.03.2011 |
Анастасія Соголовська | Львів | 30.03.2011 |
Muster, Alexandra | Zürich, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Sauthier Nathalie | Genève, Suisse | 30.03.2011 |
Thorimbert Denis | Geneva, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Анатолий Чайкин | Луцк Волынской области Украины | 30.03.2011 |
Lorenz Dagmar | Zürich Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Ирина Косова | Киев | 30.03.2011 |
Олеся Корженевськая | Киев | 30.03.2011 |
Saxer Irene | Gossau SG / Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Lida Yershykhina | Ukraine | 30.03.2011 |
Inna Guleac | Chisinau | 30.03.2011 |
Yevgeniya Slozka | Kyiv | 30.03.2011 |
Стельмащук Наталія | Львів, Україна | 30.03.2011 |
Tamar, Japaridze | Tbilisi, Georgia | 30.03.2011 |
Puskar, Alla | Collogne, Germany | 30.03.2011 |
Людмила Турик | Львов | 30.03.2011 |
Таня Мазур | Киев, Украина | 30.03.2011 |
Татьяна Печончик | Киев | 30.03.2011 |
Angela Delli Priscoli | Romanel, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Андрій Стрехалюк | Київ | 30.03.2011 |
Steck Laure-Anne | Zürich, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Иванова Надежда | Киев | 30.03.2011 |
Alex Fielding | Camrose, Canada | 30.03.2011 |
Nelly Soder | Geneva Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Наталия Лужецкая | Львов | 30.03.2011 |
Maria Elena, Vignoli | Modena, Italy | 30.03.2011 |
Юлія Нузбан | Гаага | 30.03.2011 |
Тамара Марценюк | Нью-Йорк | 30.03.2011 |
Laetsch, Winfried | Berlin, Germany | 30.03.2011 |
Edelmann Andreas | Bad Zurzach, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Gribi Bea | switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Gabi Räth | CH | 30.03.2011 |
akdeniz aykut | Stilli switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Georgette Zaugg | CH-4702 Oensingen/Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Parpan-Dericum, Christa | Almens, Zwitserland | 30.03.2011 |
Nadia Fernandez | Herrliberg, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Koch Anina | Schweiz | 30.03.2011 |
Nathalie Voeffray | Geneva Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Tim Rüdiger | St. Gallen, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Rieder monique | Savagnier Suisse | 30.03.2011 |
Andrea Bischoff | emmenbrücke, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Hürzeler Hedwig | Burgdorf, Schweiz | 30.03.2011 |
Margaux Queval | Basel, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Durand Valérie | Geneva, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Brezina Lidia | Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Angela Stobbe | Waiblingen, Germany | 30.03.2011 |
Meyer-Hirt Silvia | Zurich, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Mercier Chantal | Vevey, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
CharlotteTouati | Colombier Suisse | 30.03.2011 |
Auchter-Meile Vreni | Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Auchter-Meile Eugen | Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Gyarmati Segui, Gabriela Louise | Winterthur, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Nicole Chantal | Lausanne, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Peter Ernst | Magden, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Koch Irene | 5032 aarau rohr, switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Henk-Riethmüller, Ursula | Liebenburg, Germany | 30.03.2011 |
Budry, Maryelle | Carouge, Suisse | 30.03.2011 |
Christina Eng | Iffwil, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Jandrlic, Hanna | La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Keller Anne-Marie | Bussy-sur-Moudon Suisse | 30.03.2011 |
Brändle Sonja | St. Gallen, Schweiz | 30.03.2011 |
Christine, Scheibelhut | Giessen, Germany | 30.03.2011 |
Poncioni Philippe | Arconciel, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Gerhard Gstrein | Engelburg, St. Gallen, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Grobet Madeleine | Basel, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Engelhard, Martin | Zurich, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Daniela, Gugg | Zurich, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
ferachry | côte d'Ivoire | 30.03.2011 |
Christina Barblan | Thun, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Butty, Olivier | Genève, Suisse | 30.03.2011 |
Omini, Marco | Contra, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Pornphen, Tongpark | Winterthur, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Setrdle, Anja | Bern, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Weber Marielle | Fribourg, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Sylvie Thévenoz | Genève Suisse | 30.03.2011 |
Deibe Rafael | Zürich, switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Joubli Amina | Neuchâtel, Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |
Oertle Ernst | Niederrohrdorf Switzerland | 30.03.2011 |