Information campaign for abolition of death penalty to be carried out in Belarus, Lukashenka says
In his interview with the La Stampa Italian newspaper, President Lukashenka said an information campaign for the abolition of the death penalty in Belarus would be launched in the near future, the BELTA news agency reports.
‘A week ago we decided that we would launch a number of events ranging from parliamentary hearings to debates in mass media. But only public opinion will be decisive for the abolition of the death penalty,’ said Aliaksandr Lukashenka.
‘The issue of abolition of death penalty was put to a referendum in 1996 and was voted against by the overwhelming majority of citizens. According to the Constitution, the decision that has been taken at a referendum can be overruled only by a new referendum,’ BELTA reminds.
‘If we held a new referendum now, the results would be the same as last time,’ the President said.
The United States still uses death penalty as a kind of criminal punishment. Yet, for some reason, the USA demands Belarus should abolish the death penalty as soon as possible, the Belarusian head of state noted.
