One more death sentence is executed in Belarus

The human right fighters note that Belarus has violated the international obligations it took upon itself.

On April 18, 2014 it became known that Pavel Sialiun, 23, former student of the Belarusian State University’s History Department, have been executed. The lawyer of the young man learned about it. She came to the meeting with her client, but she was told that Sialiun had “departed on sentence”, which meant that the convict had been executed, informs the human rights centre “Viasna”.

On 12 June 2013, the Hrodna Regional Court found Pavel Sialiun guilty under four articles of the Criminal Code, including double murder, theft and desecration of corpses. The young man had no criminal record. He said his actions were an act of jealousy – he killed his wife and her lover. For multiple offenses, the trial court sentenced Pavel Sialiun to capital punishment. The trail was chaired by Judge Anatol Zayats.

The convict appealed against the verdict. On 17 September 2013, it was considered by the Supreme Court’s Judicial Board chaired by Valery Kalinkovich. As a result, the verdict was upheld.

Meanwhile, a complaint on behalf of Pavel Sialiun is still pending before the UN Human Rights Committee. According to paragraph 92 of the Committee’s Rules of Procedure, the State should not execute a death sentence until the victim’s complaint is considered on the merits. Thus, Belarus has once again violated its international obligations, human rights defenders think.