Zorgen Ashton over terdoodveroordeling Wit-Russen (en)

EUROPEAN UNION

Brussels, 17 March 2012 A

Statement by the Spokesperson of High Representative Catherine Ashton i on the execution of Uladzislaw Kavalyow in Belarus

The spokesperson of Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission, issued the following statement today:

"The High Representative strongly condemns the execution of Uladzislaw Kavalyow. He was sentenced to death in November 2011, together with Dzmitry Kanavalaw, whose fate remains unknown.

The High Representative is aware of the terrible crimes that these two men were accused of and her thoughts are with the victims and their families. At the same time, the High Representative notes that the two accused were not accorded due process including the right to defend themselves.

The European Union opposes capital punishment under all circumstances. The death penalty is considered to be a cruel and inhuman punishment, which fails to act as a deterrent and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity. Therefore the High Representative calls on Belarus, the only country in Europe still applying it, to join a global moratorium on the death penalty as a first step towards its universal abolition. "