Fifth argument against death penalty

The film from the series “Six Arguments against Death Penalty” tells about inhuman treatment of relatives of executed in Belarus.

The UN Human Rights Committee repeatedly stated that the procedure of death penalty in Belarus comes within the definition of torture, and notably, not of the executed only, but his relatives as well.

The date of execution is not revealed, and a stay in a condemned cell lasts for several months. It is agonizing for a human mind, as a convicted person cannot realize in fact, when the sentence is to be put into effect, when the last day of his life is to come, he cannot prepare for this act, Viasna human rights centre informs.

A human rights watchdog Harry Pahanyajla said: “A Soviet time law is still in force in Belarus, according to which after an execution by firing the body of the executed is not given to the family, and they are not informed about the place of burial. In this way, the date and the place of the execution, and the burial place are made secret.”