Belarus dictator Aleksandr Lukachenko has decreed that the death penalty in the country can be applied to cases of planning or attempting an act of terrorism, a crime that has been blamed on his political opponents and on people who participated in massive protests against him in 2020
The ex-Soviet republic allied with Russia is the last country in Europe where capital punishment is still applied. There are several executions each year — by firing squad. Until now, only those who committed this type of crime could be executed.
But a new law, published by decree on Wednesday (18) and quoted by Russian news agencies, now provides that “the preparation, or attempt” to commit a crime is not punishable by the death penalty, except in the case of those classified as “terrorists”, as reported by the Interfax and Ria Novosti agencies.
Since the broad 2020 protest movement against the re-election of Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, several opponents have been charged and arrested for preparing or attempting to commit terrorist acts. They were sentenced to harsh prison terms, and independent organizations and media were banned and classified as extremists.
In March 2021, the Prosecutor’s Office announced that opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, exiled in 2020, was the subject of an investigation for “preparing an act of terrorism in an organized group”, state-run Belta news agency said.
In the 2020 presidential election, Tikhanovskaya garnered surprising popular support and mobilized the masses to denounce an election rigged by Lukachenko. Since then, authorities have arrested hundreds of people and forced dozens of opposition leaders and activists to seek exile.
A new trial began in the city of Grodno on Wednesday against 12 opposition militants. Its alleged leader, Nikolai Avtukhovich, is accused of an act of terrorism and preparation of an act of terrorism in an organized group, reports the NGO Viasna, whose members and its leader are in prison.
According to the same source, the group is accused of having set fire to a vehicle and the house of a police officer and of blowing up another agent’s car.
