BELARUS: DEATH PENALTY ABOLITION DELAYED

January 23, 2013: The question of abolishing the death penalty in Belarus remains open, Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus Petr Miklashevich told a news conference in Minsk.
Belarus remains the only country in Europe that still uses the death penalty and is frequently a target of Western criticism because of this.
"The question remains open," Miklashevich said, adding that the inclusion in Belarusian law of the death penalty is a temporary and exceptional measure. He also said that the Constitutional Court had earlier explained that a moratorium on the death penalty could be introduced by a decision of the president and parliament.
"The policy of the Constitutional Court is to withhold any comments on the issue until it has been requested to support a moratorium on the abolition of the death penalty," he said. (Sources: RAPSI, 23/01/2013)