Heather McGill: «There is convincing evidence that tortures are used in Belarus”

The international human rights organisation Amnesty International estimates that as many as 400 people may have been executed since Belarus gained its independence, and tortures are still continued.

Nicola Duckworth, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International, stated that in 2008 more people were executed in Belarus than in African countries south from Sahara, BelaPAN informs.

“Europe could become space free from capital punishment if it were not for Belarus where capital punishment is hidden by the veil of secrecy,” Duckworth stressed.

According to information of Amnesty International, as many as 400 people may have been executed since Belarus gained its independence in 1991. The exact number is unknown, as according to Duckworth, “everything connected to the capital punishment is concealed by the veil of secrecy The whole process of the death penalty is shrouded in secrecy – prisoners and their relatives are not informed about the date of the execution, the body is not given to the relatives and they are not told where the burial place is.

Heather McGill, Amnesty International's researcher on Belarus, stated that the use of the death penalty in Belarus is compounded by a flawed criminal justice system.

“There is credible evidence that torture and ill-treatment are used to extract “confessions” and that condemned prisoners do not have access to effective appeal mechanisms. A young man accused of murder told Amnesty International in October 2008 how he had been beaten constantly for three days and forced to write a confession.”

Two more things cause concern. Trials which pass death sentences are kept behind the closed doors as a rule. The public cannot control the court trial developments. Besides, such verdicts are often issued by the Supreme Court of the first instance, which is the last one at the same moment. Thus, the prisoners and their lawyers cannot appeal against the ruling,” McGill said.