EU's Catherine Ashton urges Belarus to introduce death penalty moratorium
The EU's High Representative on Foreign Affairs expresses sorrow over another death sentence made by a Belarus court recently.
This is stated in a communiqué of Ms. Ashton’s press-office, published in the evening of December 19 in Brussels, reports interfax.by. Ms. Ashton hopes that the right to appeal will be fully implemented. The document notes that Ashton understands the seriousness of the crimes for which the convict was sentenced. Nevertheless, she believes that "death penalty can never be justified."
The European Union opposes the death penalty under any circumstances. The High Representative’s press-office notes that death penalty is a cruel and inhuman form of punishment, unable to prevent more crimes.
The Head of the European diplomacy urged Belarus, the only country in Europe that still applies death penalty, to join a global moratorium on such a measure. And the moratorium should be the first step towards total abolition of death penalty.
As Euroradio reported earlier, 53-year-old Edward Lykov had been sentenced to death for five murders.
Photo: Reuters
