“As for the death penalty: we are not giving up the idea of abolishing it in the future. And today, it applies only to brutal killings associated with grave crimes. But in 1996, more than 82% of citizens in a referendum supported the preservation of the death penalty. Now we are working to change this opinion, ”Makey’s words are quoted on the agency’s website.
According to him, the “imprint” was left by the fact that the citizens of Belarus “lived too long in the Soviet Union”.
Earlier, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko assessed the possibility of abolishing the death penalty in the country, saying that this could only be a referendum.
In June, a death sentence was executed in Belarus for a man whom the court found guilty of three murders. In October, a Belarusian court sentenced a man who killed an eight-month-old girl to death.
EU spokeswoman Maya Kosyančić said the EU condemns the use of the death penalty.