Ashton strongly condemns Belarus execution

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Catherine Ashton has strongly condemned the execution of Uladzislau Kavalyou, who had been sentenced to death in November 2011in the Minsk subway bombing case, together with Dzmitry Kanavalau,...

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Catherine Ashton has strongly condemned the execution of Uladzislau Kavalyou, who had been sentenced to death in November 2011in the Minsk subway bombing case, together with Dzmitry Kanavalau, whose fate remains unknown, ENPI Info Centre says.

In a statement issued on 17 March, Ashton’s spokesperson said she was “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, she noted that the two accused had not been accorded due process including the right to defend themselves.

The EU opposes capital punishment under all circumstances, the statement said, emphasizing that “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.”

The High Representative therefore called 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.

The President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz said he was appalled by the execution. “The death penalty is irrevocable, inhumane and degrading. The European Parliament opposes it in all cases,” he said in a statement. The Group of the European People’s Party (EPP), the largest in the European Parliament, also condemned the execution.

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• Ashton statement

• Schulz statement

• EPP statement