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
Наталья Карпук Брест, Беларусь 21.07.2012
Jacek Bienicewicz Białystok, Polska 21.07.2012
Дар'я Зялёнка Брэст, Беларусь 20.07.2012
Сергей Запотылок Гомель, Беларусь 20.07.2012
Станислав Гусаков Могилев, Беларусь 20.07.2012
Marta Bryl Kraków, Polska 19.07.2012
Михаил Химорода Минск, Беларусь 19.07.2012
Małgorzata Gosik Giżycko, Polska 18.07.2012
Bartosz Wyndrowny Poznań, Polska 15.07.2012
Валерий Панчев Гродно, Беларусь 15.07.2012
Katarzyna Goguł Jędrzejów, Polska 15.07.2012
Сяргей Кулак Мiнск, Беларусь 15.07.2012
Katarzyna Winkiel Konin, Polska 13.07.2012
Ганна Масілевіч Мінск, Беларусь 13.07.2012
Aleksandra Wyrzykowska Słupsk, Polska 12.07.2012
Magdalena Kękuś Kraków, Polska 12.07.2012
Karolina Zając Kraków, Polska 12.07.2012
Костянтин Рєуцький Луганьск, Україна 12.07.2012
Laura Orłowska Kraków, Polska 12.07.2012
Paulina Mieczyńska Wieliczka, Polska 12.07.2012
Klaudia Kuczyńska Kraków, Polska 12.07.2012
Marzena Musiał Cracow, Poland 12.07.2012
Sara Królik Kraków, Polska 12.07.2012
Magdalena Kuzak Gliwice, Polska 10.07.2012
Олег Поникарчик Иваново, Брест, Беларусь 10.07.2012
Александр Жерлицын Гродно, Беларусь 09.07.2012
Иван Прудниковв Минск, Беларусь 08.07.2012
Дарья Рынкевич Минск, Беларусь 07.07.2012
Helena Górka Ląka, Polska 04.07.2012
Luiza Sierpińska Warszawa, Polska 02.07.2012
Elisa Piet Sopot, Polska 02.07.2012
Anna Zemlak Leśnica Opolska, Polska 01.07.2012
Łukasz Lip Piekary Śląskie, Polska 01.07.2012
Ariadna Pacześniak Rzeszów, Polska 30.06.2012
Mira Biesaga Warszawa, Polska 30.06.2012
Weronika Kowalska Warszawa, Polska 30.06.2012
Katarzyna Korda Wrocław, Polska 30.06.2012
Ewa Bielicka Łomża, Polska 30.06.2012
Joanna Kapica Warszawa, Polska 30.06.2012
Małgorzata Sobieraj Kraków, Polska 29.06.2012
Андрей Шакутин Орша, Беларусь 28.06.2012
kamil jarosz biała podlaska, Polska 28.06.2012
Tomasz Kamiński Frankfurt am Main, Niemcy 27.06.2012
Marta Rupniewska Galway, Ireland 27.06.2012
Bogumiła Pińczuk Świdwin, Polska 27.06.2012
Kinga Tominska Poznań, Polska 27.06.2012
irmina zawada 27.06.2012
Weronika Kowalczyk Reading, England 27.06.2012
Adam Kinastowski Szarów, Polska 26.06.2012
Małgorzata Budna Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Polska 26.06.2012
Halina Pamuła-Sobczak Wolsztyn, Polska 26.06.2012
Daria Jodłowska Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Polska 26.06.2012
Michał Zdanowski Szczecin, Polska 26.06.2012
Urszula Jodłowska Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Polska 26.06.2012
Maria Wolan Żarnowa, Polska 26.06.2012
Vladimir Novak Ilyich Moscow, Russia 26.06.2012
Malwina Uznanska Krakow, Polska 26.06.2012
Anita Zdrojewska_Lichosik Szczecin, Polska 26.06.2012
Ryszard Wiczyński Poznań, Polska 26.06.2012
Jolanta Arciszewska Gostomin, Polska 25.06.2012
Katarzyna Kostecka Nowy Sącz, Polska 25.06.2012
Martyna Pokładek Kielce, Polska 25.06.2012
Ewa Marciniak Płock, Polska 25.06.2012
MATEUSZ TUCHOLSKI BYDGOSZCZ, POLSKA 25.06.2012
JERZY HOLDA KRZESZOWICE, POLSKA 25.06.2012
Tomasz Spychała Kudowa Zdrój, Polska 25.06.2012
DOROTA ZAŃKO GRYFÓW ŚLĄSKI, POLSKA 25.06.2012
Małgorzata Piątkowska Legnica, Polska 25.06.2012
Joanna Pestyk Kraków, Polska 25.06.2012
Daria Kaczmarek Poznań, Polska 25.06.2012
Aleksandra Burczyk Bydgoszcz, Polska 25.06.2012
Beata Kontze Bytom, Polen 25.06.2012
Patrycja Kwapulińska Bytom, Polen 24.06.2012
Monika Kozlowska Polak Krakow, Polska 23.06.2012
Mariola Moroń Międzyrzecze, Polska 23.06.2012
Natallia Hancharuk Philadelphia, USA 23.06.2012
Anna Raszewska Łódz, Polska 22.06.2012
Svetlana Boreichuk Minsk, Belarus 22.06.2012
Grzegorz Maciarski Toruń, Polska 22.06.2012
Bożena Brudny Kraków, Polska 22.06.2012
Aleksandra Schnell Kraków, Polska 22.06.2012
Oskar Warakomski Suwałki, Polska 22.06.2012
Agnieszka Marzol Konin, Polska 22.06.2012
jolanta awedecka katowice, polska 22.06.2012
Katarzyna Olchanowska-Oliwa Białystok, Polska 22.06.2012
joanna klawikowska LONDON, england 22.06.2012
Wojciech Wiśniewski Gliwice, Polska 22.06.2012
Beata Cieślak Wieluń, Polska 22.06.2012
Katarzyna Niechaj Jastrzębie Zdrój, Polska 22.06.2012
Lukasz Pawlowicz Mysen, Norge 22.06.2012
Weronika Rodkiewicz Londyn, Wielka Brytania 22.06.2012
Wiesław Orlita Kraków, Polska 22.06.2012
Richard Fresh Konin, Polska 22.06.2012
Wanda Janta Bochnia, Polska 22.06.2012
Maciej Andrusiuk Leśna Podlaska, Polska 22.06.2012
Piotr Rabiej Kraków, Polska 22.06.2012
Magdalena Bartnicka Warszawa, Polska 22.06.2012
Eleonora Hernandez Geneva, Switzerland 22.06.2012
Anna Szarek Otwock, Polska 20.06.2012
Kacper Manikowski Nowa Ruda, Polska 20.06.2012

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