Lukašenka approves death penalty for attempted acts of terrorism

May 18, BPN. Aliaksandr Lukašenka has signed into law a bill introducing the death penalty for attempted acts of terrorism, the National Legal Internet Portal reported. The houses of the parliament approved the bill on April 27 and May 4, respectively.

The amendments to the Criminal Code stipulate that the death penalty may be imposed for “an attempt to commit murder of a representative of a foreign state or international organization in order to provoke international complications or war, an attempt to commit an act of international terrorism or an act of terrorism by an organized group” or for an attempt to “murder a public official in connection with his duties to influence decision-making or to intimidate the population.”

Currently, the Criminal Code’s Article 289 concerning terrorism carries capital punishment only for heinous attacks involving organized groups, nuclear facilities and materials, chemical and biological substances, or attacks leading to deaths of people. 

The new law appears to conflict with the Criminal Code’s Article 67, which explicitly provides that the death penalty may not be given for attempted crimes.

Authorities did not present convincing arguments to justify the need to expand the application of death penalty, Belarusian human rights defenders said in a joint statement. They noted that the move was part of the government’s crackdown on public protests against Belarus’ involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine and the use of Belarusian territory and facilities to attack Ukraine.

Human rights defenders demanded that the authorities comply with international obligations in the field of the right to life. The EU has condemned the amendments and the use of capital punishment.

Belarus remains the only European country to use the death penalty. It executed about 400 people in the last 20 years. The Belarusian ruler pardoned only two people on the death row. One death sentence was handed down in 2021.

Those charged with terrorism-related offenses include Sviatlana Cichanoŭskaja, a former presidential candidate who fled Belarus in 2020, and Paviel Latuška, a former diplomat and the head of the National Anti-Crisis Management. Mikalaj Aŭtuchovič, an outspoken critic of Lukašenka, went on trial on terrorism-related charges on May 18.