Secretary General of Council of Europe: Death penalty is not justice

The Secretary General of Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland has urged the Belarusian authorities to establish a moratorium on executions.

A statement on this issue has been made by them in connection with the reports that an execution of 26-year-old Homel dweller Alyaksandr Hrunou had been carried out, BelaPAN informs.

Thorbjørn Jagland stressed that he was deeply concerned by reports about the third execution in Belarus.

"Death penalty is not justice. It contradicts all European values," he noted. He urged the authorities of Belarus to establish moratorium on executions immediately and replace death sentences [with life sentences].

It had been informed by Belarusian human rights watchdogs that the sentence of 26-year-old Homel dweller Aleksandr Hrunou had been enforced the day before. It is the third execution in Belarus since the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, there is no official confirmation of the execution still.

The day before it was also reported that Lukashenka denied pardon to Alyaksandr Hrunou. The papers of Hrunou’s case returned to Homel regional court with a corresponding mark. It was also stated that all the procedural actions related to appeal against the death-warrant had been used.