Death Penalty News

The Belarusian democratic forces have taken an additional step toward aligning their vision of a future Belarus with European human rights standards by adopting a Memorandum on the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Belarus. The document was passed by the Coordination Council on 17 June 2025 and supported by the United Transitional Cabinet and the Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.  The Memorandum demonstrates a unified commitment of the democratic forces to ending capital punishment in Belarus in all cases and under all circumstances.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday pardoned a German man facing the death penalty, the country's state news agency reported. Lukashenko "took the decision to pardon the German citizen Rico Krieger ... taking into account all the circumstances," Belta news agency reported, citing the president's press service. Krieger, 30, had been shown on Belarusian public television last week, saying "I really hope that President [Alexander] Lukashenko will forgive me and pardon me," according to a statement quoted by the Russian news agency TASS.

A German citizen who was sentenced to death in Belarus has asked Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko for mercy in a video broadcast on state television. A 30-year-old German man sentenced to death in Belarus asked for pardon from President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday in a television appearance. 

Belarus is the last country in Europe still to apply the death penalty, executing several people each year by firing squad.

After the deadly terrorist attack at Moscow's Crocus City Hall, some Russian politicians are debating trying the suspects to Belarus, which still has death penalty. But it's not that simple. The terror attack on Moscow's Crocus City Hall has ignited debate about the reintroduction of the death sentence in Russia. Given that 140 people died and more than 500 were wounded at the concert hall on March 22, 2024, emotions are running high.

Russia could allow a trial of the Crocus City Hall terrorist suspects to take place in neighbouring Belarus so they can face the death penalty. Talks are already underway between the ‘competent authorities’ of the two countries, according to Putin-loyalist MP Maria Butina. Belarus is the only European country where execution remains in active use – and two of the victims in the Crocus City Hall terror attack were Belarusian.

A wealthy father who tortured and starved his three-year-old son to death and made his short life 'pure hell' will be executed with a bullet to the head in Belarus . Alexander Taratuta, 48, has been sentenced to death for the brutal torture and murder of his son Semyon.  He will be shot in the back of the head in Belarus, the only country in Europe to carry out capital punishment.   His wife Anastasia Taratuta, 37, was sentenced to 25 years in a strict regime penal colony for the murder of Semyon.

STATEMENT DELIVERED BY : United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nada Al-Nashif AT : Interactive Dialogue on the situation of human rights in Belarus, 54th session of the Human Rights Council LOCATION : Geneva, Palais des Nations, Room XX Mr. President Excellencies Dear Colleagues, I welcome the opportunity to address the Council and provide an update on the human rights situation in Belarus, in accordance with Resolution 52/29.

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko is as complicit in crimes of aggression against Ukraine as Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is, the European Parliament asserted in a resolution adopted on Sept. 13. The resolution, based on a report by MEP Petras Austrevičius from Lithuania, was adopted during a plenary session in Strasbourg by an overwhelming majority of votes. “The illegitimate Lukashenka regime is actively supporting and has become fully complicit in Russia’s unjustified war of aggression and war crimes against Ukraine,” the document reads. “The special international tribunal on the crime of aggression perpetrated by Russia against Ukraine must have jurisdiction to investigate not only Putin and the Russian political and military leadership, but also the Belarusian leadership.”

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has signed a law imposing the death penalty on civil servants and army personnel convicted of high treason. The Belarusian leader on Thursday signed a bill introducing capital punishment for state officials and military personnel convicted of high treason. The amendments to the country's criminal code endorsed by Alexander Lukashenko envisage death sentences for officials and servicemen deemed to have caused "irreparable damage" to Belarus' national security. The new law is part of changes to the criminal code aimed at strengthening Belarus' fight against "crimes of an extremist (terrorist) and anti-state orientation."

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Belarus’ opposition leader said Wednesday that she believes Russian military setbacks in Ukraine could shake the hold on power of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. “We have a distracted Russia that is about to lose this war. It won’t be able to prop Lukashenko up with money and military support as in 2020,” said Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, speaking at a security conference in Warsaw. Tsikhanouskaya fled to Lithuania after Russian ally Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory in disputed August 2020 elections that were viewed in the West as fraudulent, and which many thought she won. She said that hundreds of Belarusian volunteers have supported Ukrainians in their recent liberation of Ukrainian territory. RELATED |  Belarusian ‘railway partisans’ face death penalty RELATED |  Three Belarusian 'Railway Guerrillas' May Face Death Penalty “As I speak, a Belarusian battalion is part of Ukraine’s counter-offensive chasing the invaders away. We all understan...

Criminal investigators have passed a file on the first 3 cases – Dzmitry Ravich, Dzianis Dzikun and Aleh Malchanau of Svetlagorsk – to court prosecutors. The state Investigations Committee says they could face the death penalty, although lawyers say there is no basis for that in Belarusian law. On Saturday 23 July, Belarusians will protest at their country’s embassy in London, in support of the Svetlagorsk defendants and eight others arrested on terrorism charges. Ravich, Dzikun and Malchanau were detained in Svetlagorsk on 4 March this year – a week after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine – along with Alisa Malchanau, Aleh’s daughter, and Natalia Ravich, Dzmitry’s wife, who were released a few days later. Dzianis Dzikun’s brother, Dmitry, said in an interview last month that Dzianis had wanted “to help Ukraine somehow”. Three people had been arrested, he said, and: "As far as I understand, people knew [at that time] that all the Russian equipment was moving towards the n...

MINSK -- Three Belarusian activists who were arrested for allegedly damaging railways in the country to disrupt Russian arms and troops supply to war-torn Ukraine may face the death penalty if convicted. The Investigative Committee said on June 29 that a probe launched into the case of the three activists in the southeastern region of Homel had been completed, with the suspects expected to face trial in the near future. The three men were among some 60 activists arrested for their alleged involvement in damaging Belarus's railways to impede the progress of Russian troops and arms to Ukraine as part of Moscow's ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The other cases are still being investigated. The Investigative Committee did not identify the trio, giving only their ages -- 29, 33, and 51 -- and calling them 'traitors of the motherland." The Minsk-based Vyasna (Spring) human rights center has identified the men as Dzmitry Ravich, Dzyanis Dzikun, and Aleh Malchanau, all...

The government’s recent decision to abolish the mandatory death penalty is indeed a step in the right direction toward completely abolishing the death penalty. The death penalty will still exist in our system as it would be still available for certain offences subject to the discretion of the courts. This move, however, would probably result in a significant reduction in executions in future. Most executions worldwide take place in Asia. A survey conducted by the Singaporean Ministry of Home Affairs seems to indicate that more than 80 percent of Singaporean believe that the death penalty should be retained for certain offences. This is an indication that many still believe in capital punishment. In contrast, European countries, apart from Russia and Belarus, have completely abolished the death penalty. In fact, this is a precondition for countries entering the European Union, and it is also a key objective for the union’s human rights policy. For supporters of capital punishment, deter...

Belarus has introduced the death penalty for planning an attack or "attempting an act of terrorism", according to a decree issued Wednesday — charges that target many opposition activists, including its exiled leader. "Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has signed the law providing on the possibility of the death penalty for an attempted act of terrorism,” according to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. Until now, only those who were found guilty of committing such an act could face the firing squad. The law is supposed to come into force in 10 days. According to another Russian state agency, Interfax, the text notes that no "preparation or attempt" of a crime is punishable by death except for those qualified as "terrorists". Belarus, a former Soviet republic allied with Russia, is the last country in Europe still to apply the death penalty. The country carries out several executions each year. The latest change to the law was in prepar...

Ambassador Neil Bush delivers a statement on behalf of Canada, Norway and the UK to condemn the Lukashenko regime's political repression in Belarus. Mr Chair, I am reading this statement on behalf of Canada, Norway and the United Kingdom. We join other participating States in condemning Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, in which Belarus is complicit. We commend the bravery of the Belarusian people in withholding their support for this war, and we deplore the harsh repression of those who speak out against the Lukashenko regime. We strongly condemn proposed changes to the criminal code in Belarus to include new grounds for the death penalty, and share the assessment of other participating States that this will be used as an enhanced instrument of political repression. We oppose the death penalty in all circumstances, as a matter of principle. While much of the world is moving towards abolition of the death penalty, the Lukashenko regime takes a clear step back. We urge Bel...

On 28 April, the Belarusian National Assembly approved an amendment to the Criminal Code, introducing the death penalty for “attempted acts of terrorism”, a move that goes in the opposite direction to the global trend of abandoning the death penalty. Independent opinion polls reveal that ninety-one percent of Belarusians support the Ukrainians’ struggle against the Russian invasion. Sabotage is already taking place, mainly on the railways carrying weapons and Russian troops. Many Belarusian soldiers have deserted the army, while many are fighting on the side of the Ukrainians. In mid-March, railway workers carried out a series of sabotages of Russian trains, destroyed Russian equipment, and distributed leaflets to Russian soldiers urging them not to invade Ukraine. At the end of March, the regime arrested 33 workers at the Mozyr oil refinery on suspicion of sabotage. On March 31, special forces opened fire, unsuccessfully, on sabotage railway workers. “Apart from the death penalty for ...