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UK minister for Europe calls for commuting death sentences handed to Kanavalaw, Kavalyow

 

UK Minister for Europe David Lidington has called on the Belarusian authorities to commute the death sentences handed down to two young men in connection with the subway bombing that happened in Minsk this past April and a series of other bomb attacks.

“The UK deplores the deaths and injuries suffered by Belarusian citizens as a result of the bombing of the Minsk Metro on 11 April and wants to see those responsible brought to justice,” Mr. Lidington said in his statement.

However, the UK minister questioned “the standard of evidence provided and the conduct of the trial which resulted in the sentencing to death of Dzmitry Kanavalaw and Uladzislaw Kavalyow.”

Mr. Lidington stressed that the UK opposes the death penalty “in all circumstances as a matter of principle.” “The application of the death penalty is of particularly grave concern when there are strong doubts as to whether it is being carried out in accordance with international minimum standards,” the statement said. “These state that the trial must be fair and the guilt of the person charged based on clear and convincing evidence, leaving no room for an alternative explanation of the facts.”

The UK minister expressed concern that “the two men appear to have no right of appeal against the judgement.”

He urged the Belarusian authorities to soften the sentences immediately and introduce a moratorium on capital punishment.

Speaking to reporters on December 2, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said that he would have to decide soon whether he should pardon the pair. // BelaPAN