Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has signed amendments to the penal code, which provide for the possibility of the death penalty for attempting to “organize a terrorist attack”.
The amendments signed by Lukashenko were published on the Belarusian government portal on Wednesday. They will enter into force ten days after their official publication.
The Grodno City Court began hearing the case against 12 activists accused of “preparing a terrorist attack” in a closed session on Wednesday, according to information released by the Belarusian law group Vyasna.
Among them is the experienced activist Nikolai Avtuhovich, who has already spent more than seven years in prison. He has also been charged with treason and other crimes.
Activists are accused of setting fire to a militiaman’s house in October 2020 and firing another militiaman’s car in November of that year.
After Lukashenko was officially declared the winner of the presidential election in August 2020, widespread protests broke out in Belarus. Opposition candidate Sviatlana Cihanouska, who is now living in exile in Lithuania, is believed to have won the election.
In March, the Belarusian prosecutor’s office accused Cihanouska of “preparing an terrorist attack in an organized group”, the Belarusian state news agency BelTA reported.
Until now, the death penalty was provided for in Article 59 of the Belarussian Criminal Code, with the maximum penalty for “certain particularly serious crimes involving the intentional deprivation of life of a person in aggravating circumstances”. The death penalty can be replaced by life imprisonment.
Belarus is the only European country that still carries out the death penalty.
Lukashenko’s dictatorial regime has, among other things, declared so-called partisan sabotage to obstruct the transport of Russian troops and equipment to Ukraine.
Human rights defenders detained on suspicion of sabotage are considered political prisoners.
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