08.10.2009 Amnesty International calls on Alexander Lukashenka to grant clemency to Vasil Yuzepchuk

Amnesty International has urged the President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenka to grant clemency to a man who may be facing imminent execution.

02.10.2009 Supreme Court leaves death verdict to Yuzepchuk in force

On 2 October the Supreme Court of Belarus considered the cassation complaint on the criminal case of Vasil Yuzepchuk who had been sentenced to death by Brest oblast court on 29 June. The complaint was turned down.

11.09.2009 Valer Filipau joins campaign against death penalty in Belarus

Valer Filipau, doctor of physical and mathematical sciences, is one of the first Belarusian human rights defenders who started struggling for the abolishment of the death penalty in Belarus. Three editions, dedicated to the right to life, have been edited by him.

19.08.2009 Prosecutor General speaks in favour of death penalty

Belarusian Prosecutor General Ryhor Vasilevich believes that grave crimes should be punished with the death penalty. ‘In 2009 2 persons have been sentenced to capital punishment in Belarus. The measure is severe, but fair,’ declared Mr.Vasilevich at a press-conference in Minsk. Speaking on the reasonableness of the verdicts, Prosecutor General said that one of them was passed to the murder of 7 elderly women in Drahichyn district, the other being the case of double murder as a result of a holdup, Interfax reports.

19.08.2009 Belarus to abolish death penalty in September?

Belarus might introduce a moratorium on the death penalty in September. Garry Pahaniaila, a lawyer from the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, reckons it will be the most conducive time.

He said: “September, because PACE and European structures in autumn will decide on whether to extend or lift sanctions against Belarus officials. It is also possible that a special-guest status would be returned to Belarus. Therefore, our authorities would like to meet some recommendations voiced by PACE and several EU officials. September is a good time to express "good will" and demonstrate Belarus' desire to implement the recommnedations of the international community".

18.08.2009 Amnesty International launches new campaign against death penalty in Belarus

The Amnesty International human rights group has launched a new campaign for the abolition of the death penalty in Belarus. The group proposes to send letters to the head of Belarus, urging to replace the death penalty sentences to Vasil Yuzepchuk and Andrei Zhyk with imprisonment and to introduce a moratorium on the death penalty.

The Belapan news agency reminds that Vasil Yuzepchuk, 30, a resident of the Drahichyn district, in Jume 2009 was sentenced to capital punishment for killing several female pensioners. 25-year-old Zhuk from Salihorsk was sentenced to death for murdering two people who were carrying money to be paid as salaries.

11.08.2009 Brest: action against death penalty

On 10 August in Brest members of Young Front held an action for the abolition of death penalty in Belarus. The activists held out leaflets of Amnesty International in Savetskaya Street in the center of the city.

04.08.2009 EU condemns new death sentence in Belarus

The representation of the European Commission has disseminated a statement on that on 3 August.

23.07.2009 Authorities responded to PACE – another death sentence delivered

The Court of the Minsk region sentenced killers of two officers of Bolshevik-Agro company in the Minsk region to death and life imprisonment.

“Two dwellers of Salihorsk, found guilty of murder of two officers of the company, were sentenced to death and life imprisonment,” Interfax learnt from the prosecutor’s office of the Minsk region.

According to a source of the agency, another accused in this case got 13 years in prison, he was found guilty of aiding killing.

The prosecutor’s office noted the court found “two people guilty of killing 2 persons committed by a group of people for selfish motives.”

06.07.2009 Belarus defies Council of Europe call for a moratorium

The authorities in Belarus continue to ignore international pressure on them to declare a moratorium on the death penalty, Amnesty International and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, said today. The two organizations have just learnt that the Brest regional court sentenced a 30-year-old man to death on 29 June.

The sentence was pronounced less than a week after the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly voted on 23 June in favour of restoring the Special Guest status to the Parliament of Belarus on the condition that Belarus declares a moratorium on the execution of the death penalty.

01.07.2009 Amnesty International and Belarusian Helsinki Committee adopted joint statement concerning new death sentenced in Belarus

‘The Belarusian authorities continue to ignore international pressure on them to declare a moratorium on the death penalty’, RFE/RL quotes a press release of Amnesty International.

30.06.2009 Another death sentence in Belarus

Brest oblast court sentenced a 30-year-old man to death for multiple murders. His 2-year-old accomplice got a life sentence with serving the punishment in a high-security penal colony.

25.06.2009 Judiciary said to be ready for death penalty abolition

Belarus’ judicial system is ready to introduce a moratorium on the death penalty, Supreme Court Chairman Valyantsin Sukala told reporters in Minsk on June 25. “If the constitution of Belarus describes this exceptional type of punishment as temporary, this clause will inevitably entail its abolition,” he said.

Mr. Sukala said that a moratorium on capital punishment could be an intermediate stage, describing the measure as “quite realistic and well-founded.”

24.06.2009 Hrodna human rights activists fight against death penalty

Members of Viasna’s Hrodna office held a three-day civil campaign against the death penalty. The action was joined by several other opposition activists, including members of the UCPB, Young Democrats and the Civil Forum. The activists distributed calendars with an inscription ‘Belarus is the only European country, which still uses the death penalty.’ They also informed local residents of the situation with the death penalty both in Europe and in Belarus.

18.06.2009 Head of Lukashenka’s administration Makei speaks on death penalty moratorium

Uladzimir Makei, head of the Administration of President Lukashenka, has promised to declare a moratorium on executing death penalties in Belarus in case the country establishes close relationships with the Council of Europe. ‘In case Belarus decides to join the Council of Europe, we will have to raise the issue of introducing a moratorium on the death penalty,’ says Mr.Makei. ‘The issue of the death penalty should not be considered as something stiff. I have had a meeting with Mr.Rigoni, PACE Special Rapporteur on Belarus, and we were discussing the issue for a long time. We have already reduced the number of criminal articles providing for the death penalty, and in practice the sentence has begun to be seldom used.