Belarus to introduce the death penalty for 'attempted terrorist attack'

The self-proclaimed President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has signed a law allowing the death penalty for 'attempted terrorist attack', reports the Belarusian office of Radio Liberty.

The document, approved by the Council of the Republic of Belarus in early May, envisages that the death penalty can be imposed in the following cases:

• attempt to assassinate a representative of a foreign state or international organization in order to provoke international complications or war;
• attempt to commit an act of international terrorism or an act of terrorism using nuclear energy facilities using radioactive substances or nuclear materials, chemical or biological substances;
• attempt to murder a state or public figure in connection with his state or public activities to influence the authorities' decision-making, intimidate the population, and destabilize public order.

The Belarusian Helsinki Committee, the Viasna Human Rights Center, and the Human Rights Defenders Against the Death Penalty public campaign have issued a joint statement condemning the changes to the law. They believe that new rules will be used for political pressure.

Siarhiej Siviec, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Council of the Republic of Belarus, claims that these amendments were "proportional to the existing threat to public security" and "correspond to the current criminogenic situation."

He also says some "foreign aggressive and hostile politicians towards Belarus" want to destabilize the situation in the country, for which they are recruiting "destructive forces ready to commit criminal acts that involve high human casualties."

Belarus and the war in Ukraine

The self-proclaimed President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, actively supports the policy of Vladimir Putin. Even though Belarus did not send its troops to Ukraine, it provided its territory for the Russian forces shelling Ukraine. In addition, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in April that Belarus selects "volunteers" to recruit new units of a private military company and that Russian service members who received radiation at the Chornobyl NPP are being treated in the country.

Many countries and organizations are imposing sanctions on Russia and Belarus in response to the aggression against Ukraine. Still, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) does not consider Belarus a party to the war against Ukraine.