News on the topic: death penalty
24.08.2010 Capital punishment abolishment is important but it is not the only term of Belarus’ return to PACE
The abolishment of the capital punishment is the main but not the only reason for returning the status of a special invitee to Belarus in PACE. The PACE reporter on Belarus Sinikka Hurskainen has informed about it.
15.06.2010 Say ‘No’ to Death Penalty! – on YouTube
The trailer Say ‘No’ to Death Penalty is presented at YouTube within the guidelines of the campaign Human Rights Defenders against Death Penalty in Belarus.
14.06.2010 Death penalty: official statistics
Human rights defenders have finally received an answer of the Ministry of Justice to their inquiry about the number of issued and executed death sentences in 1990-2009.
08.06.2010 Why were they sentenced to death?
The cassation complaints of two death convicts, Hrodna dwellers Andrei Burdyka and Aleh Hryshkautsou, are pending at the Supreme Court. We don’t want to make any prognoses about the outcome of the trial. However, we have the opportunity to look at this case with consideration of different opinions and circumstances.
03.06.2010 Belarusian authorities failed to timely inform Andrei Zhuk’s mother about execution of her son
The certificate about the death of the son was issued to Sviatlana Zhuk only on 1 June. According to the document, the date of his death is 18 March. There is a dash in the graph 'the cause of death'. The act of the death registration is dated 21 March.
26.05.2010 The Death Penalty: In Search of Official Statistics
299 death sentences have been executed in Belarus since 1985, the BelaPAN news agency reports. The figure is based on the agency’s own estimations and the data provided by the Amnesty International human rights group. However, the official number of executed has not yet been made public.
18.05.2010 Human rights groups condemn two new Belarus death sentences
Аmnesty International, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Centre “Vіasna” London/Minsk
17.05.2010 Two more death sentences passed in Belarus
On 14 May Hrodna Regional Court sentenced two local residents to death for a triple murder, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports. Judge Piotr Bandyk found 29-year-old Aleh Hryshkautsou and 28-year-old Andrei Burdyka guilty of committing three murders, robbery with violence and arson back in October 2009.
12.05.2010 How many death sentences have been executed since 1990?
On 12 May, human rights defenders addressed the Prosecutor General and the Chairperson of the Supreme Court with inquiries concerning the number of the death sentences issued in 1990-2009.
09.04.2010 International human rights community condemns execution of Andrei Zhuk and Vasil Yuzepchuk
A wide range of foreign and international human rights organizations addressed Aliaksandr Lukashenka and Siarhei Sikorski with a joint statement to condemn the ongoing use of the death penalty in Belarus. Here we present to your attention the full text of the address.
01.04.2010 UN Human Rights Committee deplores recent executions in Belarus
The UN Human Rights Committee has deplored the recent execution of two death row inmates in Belarus, BelaPAN reports.
01.04.2010 BELARUS: FIDH Vice President and President of Human Rights Center Viasna and his three colleagues arrested during a peaceful assembly against death penalty
Paris-Geneva, March 23. 2010. The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), expresses its deep concern about the arbitrary arrest of Mr. Ales Bialiatski, FIDH Vice-President, along with three other members of the Human Rights Center Viasna.
30.03.2010 Execution of Zhuk and Yuzepchuk direct insult to UN HR Committee, says expert
The UN Human Rights Committee released a statement on the recent execution of Andrei Zhuk and Vasil Yzepchuk, saying that ‘the Belarusian Government had flagrantly violated its obligations under the Optional Protocol.’
23.03.2010 Viasna’s activists detained
Four members of the Human Rights Center Viasna Ales Bialiatski, Valiantsin Stefanovich, Iryna Toustsik and Siarhei Sys were detained by the police while staging a picket against the execution of Andrei Zhuk and Vasil Yuzepchuk in front of the Presidential Administration building in Minsk.
23.03.2010 Council of Europe condemns executions in Belarus
The Council of Europe strongly condemns the execution of Andrei Zhuk and of Vasily Yuzepchuk in Belarus. Death penalty is barbaric and degrading, and this is why it has been abolished by the Council of Europe through Protocol 6 to the European Convention on Human Rights. The authorities of Belarus are the only remaining ones in Europe who execute people.
