Belarusian Helsinki Committee addresses Commission for Pardons
Representatives of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee are seeking to attend
the sitting of the Commission for Pardons which will consider the case of the
death convicts Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzislau Kavaliou, found guilty of
terrorist act in the Minsk metro and a number of other episodes.
According
to the chair of the legal commission of the BHC Harr Pahaniaila, the BHC commission
submitted an appropriate letter to the Commission for Pardons:
“We
maintain correspondence with the presidential administration and the leadership
of the Department of Citizenship and Pardon. It is
difficult to say whether they will fulfill our request. The main thing is that
they haven’t closed the doors to us yet. We have ensured that the public can
participate in the committee, though it is difficult to speak of any results so
far. Our letter is being considered by the administration. Aliaksandr
Kisialiou, the head of the Department of Citizenship and Pardon, will discuss
this question with the leadership of the presidential administration,”
commented Mr. Pahaniaila.
Uladzislau Kavaliou filed a pardon appeal back on 7 December 2011. Dzmitry
Kanavalau twice refused to do it and stated that he agreed with the sentence.
According to Hary Pahaniaila, though the sentence to Kanavalau and Kavaliou came
into force, the question of pardoning the convicts will be considered
regardless of whether they asked for it or not.
