Amendments to legislation envisaging the death penalty for resistance fighters in Belarus will come into force on May 29. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko intends to stipulating the death penalty for “attempted terrorism.” The move is connected with the rise in the so-called “rail partisans’ movement” in Belarus, as a result of Russia’s continuing war on Ukraine.
The Belarusian Interior Ministry has underlined that the reason for the attacks on railway lines and infrastructure by rail workers and civilians was the desire to help Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.
On April 27 Lukashenko signed amendments to the law providing the death penalty for “attempted terrorism”. The death penalty is envisaged for:
- attempting to assassinate a representative of a foreign state or international organization to provoke international complications or war;
- attempting to commit an act of terrorism with the use of nuclear energy facilities, radioactive substances or nuclear materials, chemical or biological substances;
- attempting to assassinate a state or public figure in connection with his activities to influence the decision-making of the authorities, intimidate the population, and destabilize public order.
According to the Council of the Republic, the country’s upper house, the amendments are aimed at “deterring destructive elements, as well as demonstrating the decisive fight of the state against terrorist activities.”
Lukashenko has permitted the stationing of Russian troops on Belarusian territory, some of whom were then involved in aggression against Ukraine.
Belarus is a close ally of Russia and the only country in Europe that continues to carry out executions despite calls for a moratorium.
