Belarus reduces capital punishment to minimum

Belarussian courts have reduced the number of crimes that can result in capital punishment to a minimum.

"Nowadays, only felons with a series of premeditated murders in aggravated circumstances on their hands are sentenced to death in Belarus," Supreme Court Chairman Valentin Sukalo told Interfax on Wednesday.

He said that 4 to 5 persons face death sentences in Belarus annually, whereas before the figure was about 30. "If a legislator invokes a moratorium or finds it possible to ban capital punishment, courts will have no problem doing so, and by using life sentences and prolonging prison terms, we could actually come close to a moratorium on capital punishment," Sukalo noted.

At the same time, the Supreme Court Chairman cited the results of a referendum and parliamentary hearings and reported that "capital punishment should remain as an exception in Belarus."