A/HRC/26/44 H. Death penalty44 67. In 2013, courts issued death sentences to four people for murder – Ryhor Yuzepchuk, Pavel Sialiun, Eduard Lykau and Aliaksandr Hrunou. In October, the Supreme Court of Belarus annulled the sentence of Aliaksandr Hrunou, ruling the case should be reinvestigated.45 Having reconsidered the case, on 24 December 2013, the Homel Regional Court reissued the death penalty. Before the reconsideration of the case,46 President Lukashenka publicly called on the judiciary for a renewed death sentence for Aliaksandr Hrunou, by stating: if you are a scoundrel and a bastard, and it is not the first time you kill someone, then what right do you have to live on this earth? I am not bloodthirsty, but retribution and punishment should be appropriate. Otherwise, we would never put things in order and never lower the temperature in this society. Grave crimes must be punished with maximal severity.47 68. Information on death sentences remains limited for relatives and the general public. Since the leaks of Ryhor Yazepchuk having been sentenced to death, it has been difficult to obtain details, including whether he has been executed. 69. Concern remains regarding due process in death penalty cases heard behind closed doors and prejudice towards defendants publicized by the highest level of power.. 70. The establishment in December 2012 of a parliamentary working group on the death penalty was viewed by the Special Rapporteur in his 2013 report as a promising development. However, it has yet to yield the expected progress on the issue. In the early months of 2013, Petr Miklashevich, the Chairman of the Constitutional Court, stressed several times that the “question of a moratorium on the death penalty remains open”, although not on the agenda in the foreseeable future (A/HRC/23/52, para. 27). One year on, this seems to be the reality. 71. The Special Rapporteur is convinced that leaders should promote the exercise of reason over popular passion regarding criminal justice. An immediate moratorium is critical due to the serious breaches to the right to a fair trial (A/HRC/23/52, para. 42). I. Freedom of opinion and expression 72. Belarus has no privately-owned nationwide broadcasting channels, with the Government retaining strict guidance and control over the media. Television and radio continue to be controlled by Beltelradiocompany. It owns four of the six nationwide channels,48 with the additional two owned by other State companies. There are no public service channels. 44 45 46 47 48 Executions are carried out by a gunshot to the back of the head. There is a lack of transparency about persons held on death row, and an inadequate procedure for appeals. Annual statistics on the use of the death penalty are not available, nor are the names of most of those who have been already executed. Those facing the death penalty, and their relatives, are not informed of the scheduled date of execution; following the execution, the relatives are not informed of where the body is buried. (A/HRC/23/52, para. 42). See footnote 39 above, p. 423. Human Rights Center “Viasna”, “Supreme Court to consider appeal against repeated death sentence for Aliaksandr Hrunou”, 20 February 2014 (http://dp.spring96.org/en/news/69257). http://telegraf.by/2013/11/Lukashenko-vines-prigovor-ubiice-devushki-iz-gomelya. http://www.tvr.by/eng/about.asp. 13