Amnesty International condemns recent executions in Belarus
26 July 2011
The recent
execution of a Belarusian man convicted of assault and murder does
nothing to advance the cause of justice, Amnesty International said
today.
The exact date of 28 year-old Andrei Burdyka’s execution
is not known, but it is believed to have taken place between 14 and 19
July. Another man convicted over the same case was also believed to have
been executed although this has not yet been confirmed.
“While
this man has committed terrible crimes, he should not have been
executed”, said Heather McGill, Amnesty International’s Belarus
researcher.
“We sympathize with the families of those who lost
their lives in the robbery in 2009, but the taking of further lives
does not right this wrong. The taking of a life by the state is not an
adequate answer to the problem of violent crime in society,” she added.
”In
Belarus the use of the death penalty is compounded by a flawed criminal
justice system that uses capital punishment in a manner that violates
international laws and standards. There is credible evidence that
torture and ill-treatment are used to extract “confessions”, she said.
Andrei
Burdyka and one other man were sentenced to death by shooting on 14 May
for crimes committed during an armed robbery on a flat in the western
city of Grodno in October 2009.
Both men were found guilty of
premeditated murder, armed assault, arson, kidnapping of a minor, theft
and robbery. Andrei Burdyka and the other man pleaded guilty to the
charges.
On Monday, Andrei Burdyka's mother visited the prison
where her son had been held. She was informed that he had been shot and
was handed his clothing and glasses.
Neither of the families was
officially informed of the executions. The family of the other
condemned man chose not to travel to Minsk to ask the prison authorities
if he had been executed.
In Belarus, prisoners on death row are
told that they will be executed only moments before the sentence is
carried out. They are shot in the back of the head; sometimes more than
one bullet is needed.
The body is not handed over to the family,
who are often informed only afterwards, and the place of burial is kept
secret, causing further distress to relatives.
