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Subject: AI EX152/96 BELARUS DP
From: Ray Mitchell
Date: Mon, 30 Sep 1996 19:58:25 +0100
/* Written 7:57 PM Sep 30, 1996 by rmitchellai in gn:ai.uan */
/* ---------- "AI EX152/96 BELARUS DP" ---------- */
+------------------------------------------------------+
+ Paper reprints authorised. Electronic redistributors +
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+------------------------------------------------------+
EXTERNAL AI Index: EUR
49/03/96
30 September 1996
EXTRA 152/96 Death penalty
BELARUS
Igor Mirenkov, aged 27
Fears that Igor Mirenkov, sentenced to death on 9 August 1995, may
be facing imminent execution have been heightened by an official
statement that the death penalty is increasingly being used in
Belarus, and that President Lukashenko has not granted clemency to
a single death row prisoner during his two and a half years in
office.
On 24 September 1996, Igar Andreyew, the first deputy chairman of
the Belarusian Supreme Court reportedly told a press conference that
24 executions have been carried out since the beginning of 1996.
He also gave other figures concerning the use of the death penalty
in Belarus in recent years, and is quoted as saying "While in 1990
some 20 persons were sentenced to death, the figure went up to 40
in 1994 and 46 in 1995". He did not give details of the number of
people sentenced to death in 1996.
Igor Mirenkov was sentenced to death by Svetlogorsk Regional Court
for premeditated aggravated murder under article 100 of the Belarus
Criminal Code.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send
telegrams/telexes/faxes/express/airmail letters in Russian, English
or your own language:
- urging the Clemency Commission and the President to grant clemency
to Igor Mirenkov, sentenced to death by Svetlogorsk Regional Court
on 9 August 1995;
- expressing sympathy with the victims of violent crime and their
families, but referring to the 1988 Study for the United Nations on
the death penalty which concluded that the death penalty was not an
effective deterrent for violent crimes;
- expressing concern at the very high rate of executions in Belarus
during 1996, and reminding the Belarusian authorities that the
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly resolution 1044 of 1994
calls for the abolition of the death penalty in states with guest
status to the Council of Europe, as Belarus has, and for clemency
in all countries.
APPEALS TO:
The President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko:
[Salutation: Dear President]
Respublika Belarus
220010 g. Mensk
pl. Nezavisimosti, Apparat Presidenta Respubliki Belarus
Presidentu Respubliki Belarus, LUKASHENKO A.H
Telegrams: Belarus, Mensk, Presidentu Lukashenko.A
Faxes: + 375 172 235825 (if voice ask for fax)
The Head of the Department for Applications for Clemency and
Citizenship at the President's Administration, name not known:
[Salutation: Dear Sir/Madam]
Respublika Belarus
220010 g. Mensk
Apparat Prezidenta Respubliki Belarus
Otdel po voprosam pomilovaniya i grazhdanstva
Zaveduyushchemu otdelom
(i.e. to the Head of department)
Faxes: + 375 172 235825 (if voice ask for fax)
Telegrams: Belarus, Mensk 220010, pl. Nezavisimosti, Otdel
pomilovaniya, Zav.
PLEASE SEND COPIES OF YOUR APPEALS TO: His Excellency Mr Uladzimir
Shchasny, Embassy of the Republic of Belarus, 6 Kensington Court,
London, W8 5DL.
AND, IF POSSIBLE, TO THE FOLLOWING:
The Chairman of the Supreme Court of Belarus, Vladimir S. Karavay:
Respublika Belarus
220030 g. Mensk
Ul. Lenina, 28
Verkhovny Sud Respubliki Belarus
Predsedatelyu KARAVAYU V.S.
The Acting Procurator General of Belarus,Vasiliy Stepanovich
KAPITAN:
Respublika Belarus
220050 g. Mensk
Ul. Internatsionalnaya, 22
Prokuratura Respubliki Belarus
I.o Generalnogo prokurora
KAPITANU V.S
Fax: + 375 172 264166
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Ulazimir SYANKO:
Respublika Belarus
220030 g.Mensk
Ul. Lenina, 19
Ministerstvo inostrannykh del
Respubliki Belarus
Ministry SYANKO U.
Fax: + 375 172 274521
The Chairman of the Commission for Human Rights in the CIS, name not
known:
Respublika Belarus
220000 g.Mensk
Ul. Kirova, 17
Kommissiya po pravam cheloveka SNG
Predsedatelyu
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Please do not send appeals after
30 October 1996.
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
+ If you have any queries about this Urgent Action or about +
+ the UA scheme in general, please contact: +
+ Ray Mitchell +
+ Amnesty International UK Section +
+ 99 - 119 Rosebery Avenue +
+ London EC1R 4RE email: rmitchellai@gn.apc.org +
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
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