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
Natalia Cisowska Szczytna, Polska 19.06.2012
Magdalena Szpura-Kakol Lublin, Polska 19.06.2012
Rae Zehel Madison, USA 18.06.2012
Сергей Васенда Мозырь, Беларусь 18.06.2012
Адольф Вождь Браунау-на-Инне, Рансхофен 17.06.2012
Руфан Мустафаев Гомель, Беларусь 16.06.2012
Лилия Войчевская Минск, Беларусь 15.06.2012
Walentyna łojewska Białystok, Polska 14.06.2012
Надежда Коледа Санкт-Петербург, Россия 13.06.2012
Алексей Кузнецов Новополоцк, Беларусь 13.06.2012
Anna Matysek Warszawa, Polska 13.06.2012
Андрей Никитин Полоцк, Беларусь 13.06.2012
Яуген Гулецкi Мiнск, Беларусь 13.06.2012
Татьяна Архипова Москва, Россия 13.06.2012
Dzmitry Herasimau Vitabsk, Belarus 13.06.2012
Justyna Czarnik 13.06.2012
Aleksandra Łakoma Opole Lubelskie, POLSKA 12.06.2012
AGNIESZKA JAKALA WYSOKA, POLSKA 11.06.2012
Magdalena Pełka Jugów, polska 10.06.2012
Marian Lipczyński Gliwice, Polska 10.06.2012
Наталья Аниска Гродно, Беларусь 10.06.2012
Людміла Карона Менск, Беларусь 10.06.2012
Zofia Godowska Warszawa, Polska 09.06.2012
Zuzanna Ślemp Sanok, Polska 09.06.2012
Mateusz Paluch Kraków, Polska 09.06.2012
Вiкторыя Бурая Лiда, Беларусь 08.06.2012
Paulina Reichhart Stalowa Wola, Polska 08.06.2012
Anita Przybylska Tychy, POLSKA 07.06.2012
Adam Nagięć Niepołomice, Polska 07.06.2012
Gabriela Krypska Sanok, Polska 07.06.2012
Izabela Rogacka Zielona Góra, Polska 06.06.2012
Dominika Józefiak Kutno, Polska 06.06.2012
Olimpia Liber 06.06.2012
Robert Różycki Wolsztyn, Polska 05.06.2012
Aleksandra Olszewska Wrocław, Polska 05.06.2012
Kamil Byliński Bytom, Polska 05.06.2012
Inga Dudek Warszawa, Polska 05.06.2012
Anna Piasecka Lublin, Polska 05.06.2012
Міміш Яўгеній 04.06.2012
Eleonora Żurawska Lublin, Polska 04.06.2012
Аліна Байгужакава Люблін, Польшч 04.06.2012
Katarzyna Denis Lublin, Polska 04.06.2012
Anna Dąbrowska Lublin, Polska 04.06.2012
Mieczysław Kobus Bydgoszcz, Polska 04.06.2012
Agnieszka Kurowska Gliwice, Polska 04.06.2012
Anna Dębinny 03.06.2012
Edyta Rutkowska Olszyny, Polska 03.06.2012
Danuta Stroz Pfullendorf, NIEMCY 03.06.2012
Юлия Савчук Минск, Беларусь 03.06.2012
Олег Желнов Бобруйск, Беларусь 03.06.2012
rafał kania Białystok, polska 03.06.2012
Monika Kwaśniewska-Mikuła Kraków, Polska 03.06.2012
Anna Białek Szczecin, Polska 03.06.2012
Karolina Imielska wrocław, Polska 02.06.2012
Justyna Dekarz Białystok, Polska 02.06.2012
Grażyna Jędrychowska Olsztyn, Polska 02.06.2012
Anna Horszwald Olsztyn, Polska 02.06.2012
Arkadiusz Chmielewski 02.06.2012
Marina Goncharenok Bobruisk, Belarus 02.06.2012
Ольга Михновец Минск, Беларусь 02.06.2012
Małgorzata Daniluk Warszawa, POLSKA 02.06.2012
Adam Eppa Olsztyn, Polska 01.06.2012
Katarzyna Boczek Lublin, Polska 01.06.2012
Weronika Jutrzenka 01.06.2012
Marta Parada Edinburgh, Szkocja 01.06.2012
Bartłomiej Kozłowski Michałów Grabina, Polska 01.06.2012
Maria Jędrzejewska Warszawa, Polska 01.06.2012
Natalia Kośnik Olsztyna, Poland 01.06.2012
Anna Adamczak Warszawa, Polska 01.06.2012
Julia Bartosz Wroclaw, Polska 01.06.2012
Robert Majsterek Warszawa, Polska 01.06.2012
Aliaksandr Drahun Kielce, Polska 01.06.2012
Adriana Mazurek Olsztyn, Polska 01.06.2012
Konrad Drzewiecki Warszawa, Polska 01.06.2012
Dagmara Skawińska 01.06.2012
Magdalena Brzezińska-Hendzel Słupsk, Polska 01.06.2012
Weronika Lewandowska Nebrowo Małe 14, Polska 01.06.2012
Justyna Kosiń 01.06.2012
Agnieszka Kurasińska-Woźniak Poznań, Polska 01.06.2012
Sandra Post Gliwice, Polska 01.06.2012
Agnieszka Szewczyk Bytom, POLSKA 01.06.2012
Przemysław Wierzbowski Białystok, Polska 01.06.2012
Monika Płuciennik Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Polska 01.06.2012
beata rys warszawa, polska 01.06.2012
Adam Januszewski Łomża, Polska 31.05.2012
Наталля Бордак Нясвіж, Беларусь 31.05.2012
Anna Lebda 30.05.2012
J Inoh Białstok, Polska 30.05.2012
Sylwia Kalejta Suwałki, Polska 30.05.2012
jakub Drózd Cieszyn, Polska 30.05.2012
валентина бульхеллер гродно, рб 30.05.2012
Dominique van Eick 30.05.2012
Ewelina Pietrzyk Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Polska 29.05.2012
Mateusz Paweł Smaruj Warszawa, Polska 29.05.2012
Markéta Eidrnová Pilzno, Czechy 29.05.2012
Justyna Glińska Łempice, Polska 29.05.2012
Ola Kapturek Warszawa, Polska 29.05.2012
Ruslana Kobryn Dubno, Ukraina 29.05.2012
Katarzyna Mansfeld-Piontek Bielefeld, Niemcy 29.05.2012
Marta Joanna Smaruj Turyn, Włochy 29.05.2012

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