On 20 January, Minsk City Court sentenced Viachaslau Sukharko and Aliaksandr Zhylnikau to death. In March 2017, the two men were found guilty of murdering three people in December 2015 and were sentenced to life imprisonment. In July 2017,... the Supreme Court sent their case back to the lower court for a retrial, which resulted in them being sentenced to death.
Despite mounting domestic and international pressure, Belarus remains the only country in Europe and Central Asia which continues to apply the death penalty. In addition to Viachaslau Sukharko and Aliaksandr Zhylnikau, five other men are believed to be on death row in Belarus.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, as a violation of the right to life, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
