Cichanoŭskaja: regime uses death penalty as instrument of intimidation (updated)

November 15, BPN. The regime in Belarus uses death penalty as an instrument of repression and intimidation, democratic politician Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja has told the 8th World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Berlin.

Many protesters against the rigged presidential election have been accused of terrorism and can be sentenced to death, Cichanoŭskaja said. “If earlier the fear of the death penalty was abstract and distant, now many political activists live in fear of being shot dead,” she said.

The opposition leader recalled that Belarus is the only state in Europe to apply the death penalty. Since recently, a person can be sentenced to death for attempts to commit terrorist acts. “It is basically a thought crime punishment,” Cichanoŭskaja said.