Statement by Human Rights Commissioner Kofler on the execution of Sergey Ivanov in Belarus

Bärbel Kofler, Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the Federal Foreign Office, issued the following statement on 10 May 2016 on the execution of Sergey Ivanov in Belarus:

Zusatzinformationen

Last week’s news that Belarusian citizen Sergey Ivanov has been executed, apparently in April 2016, is extremely shocking. Belarus is the last country in Europe and the entire post-Soviet region to have and apply the death penalty. The right to life is the most fundamental human right. I strongly condemn this execution and call on Belarus once again to immediately impose a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. My thoughts are also with the murder victim and her family, to whom I would like to express my profound sympathy.

Background information:

On 18 March 2015, Sergey Ivanov, who was 21 years old at the time of the crime, was sentenced to death for the rape and brutal murder of a young woman. The human rights organisation Viasna and the Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty movement reported on 6 May 2016 that Ivanov had been executed in Volodarka Prison in Minsk, presumably in April 2016. The Belarusian authorities have not released information on the exact time of his death or his burial site.

Belarus is the only country in Europe and the entire post-Soviet region to apply the death penalty. Human rights organisations report that 327 people have been executed in Belarus since 1990. The death penalty is not imposed on women or on men aged under 18 or over 65. Three further prisoners who have been condemned to death are currently incarcerated in Volodarka Prison. The EU has been calling for a moratorium on the death penalty in Belarus for many years.

from
http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/Infoservice/Presse/Meldungen/2016/160510_Belarus.html?nn=479796