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 |
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grandjean renee | basel swizerland | 29.03.2011 |
Manfred Friedag | D-48531 Nordhorn | 29.03.2011 |
Zuchuat Isabelle | Bramois, Suisse | 29.03.2011 |
Andres Daniel | Biel, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Tobler, Nadine | Baden, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Anja Mugil | Wettingen, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
seiler peter | interlaken, switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Remlein, Sabrina | Hamburg, Deutschland | 29.03.2011 |
Söldi Andrea | Winterthur, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Michel P. SCHALLER | Suisse | 29.03.2011 |
De Kegel, Catherine | Engelberg, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Hemes Christine | Grandson, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Weber, Ursula | Uster, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Richon Denis | DELEMONT, SWITZERLAND | 29.03.2011 |
Richter, Angelika | Kreuzlingen, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Bireima, Natalie | Lausanne, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Resin Michèle Françoise | Yverdon-les-Bains Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Hochreutener Ursina | Zurich, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Ullmann Lawrence | Montreux, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Steffen Richard | Zuerich, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Chaubert Irène | Bex, Suisse | 29.03.2011 |
Ropp Emilie | Geneva, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Michèle et Françoise Resin | Yverdon-les-Bains Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Baumberger, Michaela | St. Gallen, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Mattle Heinz | Zürich, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Michael Pfisterer | Basel, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Leuthard, Denise | Züürich, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Diana Arioli | Zurich, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Cryer-Schneider Barbara | Stäfa, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Michael Rutz | Buchs, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Baumgartner Annemarie | Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Olloz, Andreas | Basel, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Holger, Klein | Frankfurt, Germany | 29.03.2011 |
Daniel Fleischmann | Gailingen, Germany | 29.03.2011 |
Silvia Messmer | Boniswil, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Ebneter Alexandra | Malans, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Lencel, Danijela | Zürich, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Kramer Dominik | Switzerland, Ennetbaden | 29.03.2011 |
Pierre Nicolas | Lausanne, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Irena Backus | Thônex, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Alice Siggen | Conthey, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Fabio Boer | S.Domenica di Ricadi Italy | 29.03.2011 |
Maya Goerner | S.Domenica di Ricadi Italy | 29.03.2011 |
Diefenbacher Werner | Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Franz, Olloz | Zullwil, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Ter-Nedden Brigitte | 8951 Fahrweid, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Niggli Rolf | Baar, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Lucchetta Renzo | Winterthur, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Gerber Bernadette | Siebnen/Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Sara Losa | La Chaux-de-Fonds | 29.03.2011 |
Martina Degonda | Brugg, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Iris Pfister | Cavigliano, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Rossi, Daniel | Uster, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Rossi, Olivier | Lausanne, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Kramer Markus | Moerschwil, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Ursula Moor | Rombach, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Heidi Chervet-Müller | Praz, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Maria Godoy | Suisse, Lausanne | 29.03.2011 |
Vollenhals Monika | Germany | 29.03.2011 |
Gabriela Stalder | Chur Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Claire Eichenberger | Fribourg, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
von Hoesslin, Elisabeth | BRD | 29.03.2011 |
Boillat Marie | Saignelégier, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Kahwajy Brigitte | Villars-sur-Glâne, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Michelle Hufschmid | Zurich, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Emanouil Varouxis | Basel, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Bürgisser Bruno | Boswil, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Jäggi Miranda | Boswil, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Marchand Valérie | La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Bühler, Claudia | Zürich, Schweiz | 29.03.2011 |
Ackermann Franz | 8603 Schwerzenbach, Schweiz CH | 29.03.2011 |
Egli Brigitte | Zürich, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Léda Gerber | Lausanne, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Felscher, Susanne | Basel, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Rutz Magdalena | CH-4410 Liestal, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Maier, Carmen | Frankfurt, Germany | 29.03.2011 |
Muench,Dieter | Wiesbaden,Germany | 29.03.2011 |
frattini joel | switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Hug, Markus | Chambesy / Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Falck Lennart | Winterthur, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Kirchschlaeger, Peter | Lucerne, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Anita Holdener | Aarau, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Angelo Zehr | St.Gallen, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Stutz Pierre | Lausanne Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Esther Becker | Zurich, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Gehring Christiane | Winterthur / Schweiz | 29.03.2011 |
Lachenmeier Urs | Murg Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Mathias Burki | Leukerbad, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Ruggle Ilona | zurich Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Benedict Arpagaus | Einsiedeln. Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Tabbal, Delphine | Carouge, Swizerland | 29.03.2011 |
Meitner, Yvonne | Zürich, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Ingrid truebin | 79348 Freiamt, Germany | 29.03.2011 |
Karin Hutter | Zurich, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Cornel Doswald | Bremgarten AG, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
Agnes Masafret | Aadorf Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
melanie Pipilis | Stuttgart, Germany | 29.03.2011 |
Alanko Schmid, Tuija | Zeiningen, Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |
richter | suisse | 29.03.2011 |
Copes, Celeste | Switzerland | 29.03.2011 |