MINSK. Oct 18 (Interfax) - If the Belarusian people vote for abolishing the death penalty, it will be abolished, President Alexander Lukashenko said.
"If the people vote so, we'll abolish it. We've had a referendum. Do you think I am happy about this death penalty, considering that I sign it, and then, put crudely, someone is shot?" the Belarusian state news agency BelTA quoted Lukashenko as saying at the Administration Academy on Friday.
"But that's how the people have voted, and, according to the constitution, this is within the president's purview in any country where the death penalty is used," he said.
Lukashenko said that, whenever a discussion on the application of the death penalty starts, he cites several real examples of horrible killings, including those of children.
Belarus is the only country in Europe and in the CIS still applying the death penalty, which, in line with the Belarusian constitution, is seen as an exceptional punishment for especially serious crimes. Criminals convicted to the death penalty are executed by firing squad.
As a rule, the relatives of the criminals convicted to the death penalty are not informed of their execution and are not granted the last meeting before the execution. Belarusian law stipulates that the bodies of the executed criminals are not released to their relatives for burial, nor are their relatives informed of their burial place.
The EU, the OSCE and a number of international organizations have been regularly condemning Belarus for applying the death penalty.