Terrorists Will Be Sentenced to Death in Belarus
Terrorists Will Be Sentenced to Death in Belarus – Currently, more and more people are eager to get the latest information, not only in Indonesia, but also abroad. The Belarusian government this week officially announced the ratification of the death penalty for terrorists. This policy change indicates the existence of new rules to increase penalties for opposition in the Eastern European country.
Reported by Reuters, this amendment was carried out following a case of sabotage of railroads in Belarus by anti-government activists. The reason is, the railway line is used as a logistics route for Russian military weapons to fight in Ukraine.
1. Referred to as an attempt to revenge the defectors
This new regulation was passed after it was signed by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The law will officially take effect 10 days after the announcement, on May 29 to be exact.
According to the spokesman for opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Franak Viačorka, Lukashenko is trying to use the law to take revenge on railroad partisans.
“He sought revenge on any and all who were perceived as threats to himself and his family. First, he announced the trial in absentia. Second he took possession of the property of all those who fled Belarus, and lastly he gave the death penalty,” Viačorka said, quoted by Euronews.
“The partisans, they are not military professionals. The majority of them are just ordinary people who want to change their country. However, I think that people will not be afraid anymore. This is what Belarusians did in some occupations in the 20th century,” he added.
2. The last country in Europe that still applies the death penalty
After Lukashenko’s unanimous victory in the presidential election of Belarus in August 2020, there was a wave of massive demonstrations in the former Soviet Union. This has resulted in thousands of anti-government activists being detained and awaiting trial until now.
France24 reported that the Grodno Court in Belarus had already started closed-door trials of 12 activists. All of them were accused of preparing for acts of terrorism.
One of them is a veteran activist named Nikolai Avtukhovich who is already serving a seven-year prison sentence. Apart from being accused of terrorism, the 59-year-old activist was also charged with treason to the state.
Meanwhile, the death penalty in Belarus is carried out behind closed doors and there is no official number from the local authorities. However, according to the UN Human Rights Committee, the last death sentence in Belarus was carried out in 2019 for Victor Pavlov, who was accused of murder and theft.
In addition, Belarus is the last country in Europe to still enforce the death penalty. Although there is already a moratorium so that executions are abolished in the former Soviet Union.
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3. The US condemns the death penalty for alleged terrorists in Belarus
In response to this action, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his condemnation of President Lukashenko. The reason is that the decision to ratify the death penalty is considered an attempt to silence critics and punish defectors.
Blinken also said that this policy targets pro-democracy activists and anti-Russian government parties who resist the invasion of Ukraine.