Belarus hands down another death sentence

The Human Rights Center "Viasna" learned that another death verdict was pronounced in Belarus.

The convict is a 53-year-old citizen of Russia, Eduard Lykov, charged with five episodes of murder while intoxicated. The sentence was handed down by the Minsk Regional Court on November 26, 2013. Lykov has been under investigation since 2011. During this time he has had three counsels.

He is known to have no permanent residence, maintaining contacts with his mother, who lives in Baranavichy. His son lives in Russia, and his daughter – in Germany, but Lykov has no contacts with his children.

Andrei Paluda, coordinator of the campaign “Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty in Belarus”, notes that this case once again demonstrates that the government tends to conceal the facts of death sentences and executions.

“Officials often say that Belarus shoots few people, but if there is no public information on who received the death penalty, if all this information is concealed from the public, then it is difficult to appeal to the figures of how many people were actually executed in Belarus on behalf of the State.”

Activists of the campaign against the death penalty will be monitoring this situation closely. And if necessary, they are ready to provide legal assistance to the accused in appealing the verdict of the trial court and in contacting the UN Human Rights Committee.