General prosecutor admits possibility of abolition of capital punishment

At a press-conference on 21 January, the General Prosecutor of Belarus Ryhor Vasilevich said death penalty may be abolished after Belarus joins the Council of Europe.

‘This is a requirement by the Council of Europe, this is a rule. If we join it – we have to obey the existing rules. They say when in Rome do as the Romans do,’ said Mr.Vasilevich.

Meanwhile, he said that at present ‘the sentence can exist as a precaution measure’.

Mr.Vasilevich also said only one death sentence was passed in Belarus in 2008 – it was a man who had raped and murdered an 8-year-old boy in Homel.