EU once again calls on Belarus to introduce death penalty moratorium
After the new death sentence in Belarus, the European Union once again has urged the authorities of the country to introduce a moratorium on the death penalty.
In a statement, the press-secretary of the European External Action Service Maja Kocijancic said that the sentenced to death Henadz Yakavitski should receive a guaranteed right to appeal the sentence.
"Yakavitski was convicted of a serious offense, and we express our deepest regret to the families and friends of the victims," BelaPAN quotes the statement by Kocijancic. At the same time, the document emphasizes that the EU "is opposed to the death penalty in all cases and without exception."
As previously reported, as a result of the visiting session, the Minsk Regional Court on January 5 sentenced to death a 49-year-old Henadz Yakavitski for the brutal murder of his concubine. The man was sentenced to death in Soviet times. But then he appealed the sentence, and the execution was replaced for him with a long imprisonment term.
In the history of independent Belarus were issued 406 death sentences. Only one convict was pardoned by the President. Belarus is the only European country which still retains the death penalty.
