Rights activist asks Lukashenka to say how many death sentences he commuted
Brest-based human rights defender Raman Kislyak has petitioned
Alyaksandr Lukashenka to make public information about how many people
sentenced to execution have been spared death by him since his election
as president in 1994.
As Mr. Kislyak told BelaPAN, he says in his appeal that no official data on the matter is available to the public.
“I
am against the death penalty, but I believe that a decision on whether
it should be abolished should be made by Belarusian society. However,
how can it make up its mind on the matter if it lacks information and
does not know how many death row inmates have had their life spared and
who are these people?” he wondered.
Mr. Kislyak said that he
knew of at least one convict to have been spared death by Mr.
Lukashenka. According to the justice ministry, 241 people were sentenced
to death between 1994 and 2011.
