Supreme Court confirms death sentence for Siarhei Vostrykau
Guards taking Siarhei Vostrykau out of the courtroom after the Supreme Court upheld his death sentence. October 4, 2016. Photo by Ales Bialiatski
The Supreme Court has upheld the death verdict handed down to Siarhei Vostrykau.
The announcement of the verdict was attended by a number of Belarusian and international human rights activists: Viasna leader Ales Bialiatski, coordinator of the campaign "Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty in Belarus" Andrei Paluda, as well as representatives of the International Federation for Human Rights Sasha Koulaeva and Florence Bellivier, who arrived in Belarus to take part in an event of the Week against the Death Penalty.
"Siarhei Vostrykau took the decision of the Supreme Court without emotion. The judge asked if he understood the decision, he said that he did,” Andrei Paluda said.
No other circumstances of today’s court hearing are unknown to the human rights defenders, as it was held behind closed doors. The court refused to clarify the reasons for the decision.
On May 19, the Homieĺ Regional Court sentenced Siarhei Vostrykau, 33, to death on charges of two separate cases of rape and murder. Despite the growing national and international pressure on Belarus to abolish the death penalty, the Supreme Court has confirmed this year’s third death verdict.
