The self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Alexandr Lukashenko, has signed a law that allows him to be sentenced to death for "attempted terrorism."
This was reported by the Belarusian edition of Radio Svoboda.
The House of Representatives voted in favor of the amendments to the bill on April 27. The introduction of such amendments was linked to the activities of "rail guerrillas" in Belarus.
The Belarusian Helsinki Committee, the Viasna Human Rights Center, and the public campaign "Human Rights Defenders Against the Death Penalty" issued a joint appeal on the bill.
They said expanding the death penalty in Belarus was critically unacceptable, and said the rule could be used in the country for political pressure.
- Belarus is the only country in Europe where the death penalty is used.
- People who opposed the war in Ukraine and the Lukashenko regime could also be sentenced to death. Since the beginning of the war between Russia and Ukraine, control over citizens has been tightened in Belarus.
- On April 17, Lukashenko signed a document relieving law enforcement officials of responsibility for the use of weapons, physical force, combat, and special equipment to suppress rallies.