PACE rapporteurs condemn two recent executions in Belarus

Strasbourg, 30.05.2018 - Yves Cruchten (Luxembourg, SOC), General Rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on the abolition of the death penalty, and Andrea Rigoni (Italy, ALDE), former PACE rapporteur on the situation in Belarus, have strongly condemned the execution of Aliaksei Mikhalenia and Viktor Liotau, which reportedly took place in secret in mid-May.

“The secrecy surrounding the execution of the death penalty in Belarus is a particularly disturbing feature. Information is withheld from the public as well as from family members. The working group on the abolition of the death penalty in the Belarusian National Assembly must consider this issue as a matter of urgency and move towards a moratorium on the executions without further delay” stated the rapporteurs.

“Once again we must stand firm against any death sentence imposed by the Belarusian courts and any executions carried out in that country. The death penalty is a cruel and inhuman punishment, which is no longer acceptable in Europe” the rapporteurs concluded.