President Alexander Lukashenko

BELARUS: PRESIDENT LUKASHENKO CHANGES DEATH PENALTY LAW TO TARGET OPPOSITION

May 18, 2022:

Belarus has introduced the death penalty for planning an attack or "attempting an act of terrorism", according to a decree issued on 18 May 2022 — charges that target many opposition activists."Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has signed the law providing on the possibility of the death penalty for an attempted act of terrorism,” according to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. Until now, only those who were found guilty of committing such an act could face the firing squad.
The law is supposed to come into force in 10 days.
According to another Russian state agency, Interfax, the text notes that no "preparation or attempt" of a crime is punishable by death except for those qualified as "terrorists".
Belarus, a former Soviet republic allied with Russia, is the last country in Europe still to apply the death penalty. The country carries out several executions each year.
The latest change to the law was in preparation ever since the Lukashenko administration was hit by a wave of sabotage acts by activists, who attempted to take out parts of the country's railroad network to make it harder for Russia to deploy forces in Ukraine.
Russia used Belarus as a staging ground to launch its 24 February invasion of Ukraine. Minsk denies involvement in the conflict but acknowledges that its territory was used by Russian forces.