Belarus:President Lukashenko brings in the death penalty for his political opponents

Belarus dictator, Alexander Lukashenko has introduced death penalty for political opponents accused of bogus ‘attempted terrorism’ charges.

Lukashenko signed a law permitting the death penalty for ‘attempted terrorist acts’, the RIA Novosti news agency says.

The law is expected to come into effect 10 days after its publication.

Belarus’ parliament backed expanding the death penalty’s use after activists tried to sabotage parts of the railway network to make it harder for Russia to deploy forces into Ukraine for its invasion.

Russia used Belarus, a close ally, as a staging ground to launch its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. Minsk denies involvement in the conflict but acknowledges that its territory was used for the invasion.

Activists believe that Svetlana Tikhanovskaya – who now leads the Belarusian opposition from exile in Lithuania – was the true winner in the August 2020 polls.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya

Last March, Belarusian prosecutors charged Tikhanovskaya with “preparing acts of terrorism as part of an organised group”, according to Belarusian state news agency Belta.

A Belarusian court in the city of Grodno on Wednesday started a closed-door hearing in the case against 12 activists accused of “preparing acts of terrorism”, according to Belarusian rights group Vyasna.

Among them is veteran activist Nikolai Avtukhovich, who has already served more than seven years in jail. The 59-year-old faces a litany of other charges, including treason.

The activists are accused of setting the home and car of a policeman on fire in October 2020 and burning the car of another policeman in November 2020, in the wake of historic protests that erupted in Belarus over the disputed re-election of strongman Lukashenko.