A/HRC/44/55 amounts to inhuman treatment in violation of article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.3 25. During the reporting period, five death sentences were handed down in Belarus. Viktar Paulau was sentenced to death on 30 July 2019 for a double murder; the Supreme Court upheld the decision on 12 November 2019.4 Mr. Paulau’s execution is reportedly imminent.5 The second death sentence was issued to Viktar Serhil on 25 October 2019, 6 and on 31 January 2020 his conviction and death sentence were upheld by the Supreme Court. 7 On 10 January 2020, two brothers, Illia and Stanislau Kostseu, were sentenced to death. 8 It has been reported that Stanislau Kostseu was forced to wear a marked death row uniform prior to his court hearing. 9 On 6 March 2020, the Minsk Regional Court sentenced Viktor Skrundik to death after finding him guilty of murder and attempted murder. 10 The sentence may be appealed to the Supreme Court. 26. According to the information available, at least two, possibly three, executions were carried out in Belarus during the reporting period.11 The Supreme Court upheld the death sentences issued to Aliaksandr Zhylnikau and Viachaslau Sucharko. 12 It has been reported that Mr. Zhylnikau was executed on or around 13 June 2019, while the fate of Mr. Sucharko, convicted on the same charges, is unknown. The practice in Belarus, however, is that sentences in relation to all convicted persons within one case are executed simultaneously, which gives reason to suspect that Mr. Sucharko was executed as well. 13 Mr. Zhylnikau was executed while his complaint was still pending before the Human Rights Committee. 14 Aliaksandr Osipovic, sentenced to death on 9 January 2019, was executed on 17 December 2019 in Bobruysk. The petitions of Mr. Osipovic to the Supreme Court and to the President of Belarus for clemency were discarded. 27. The Special Rapporteur notes with concern that, by executing individuals while their cases are under consideration by the Human Rights Committee, Belarus is failing to respect the obligations undertaken by virtue of being party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 28. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the participation of the Government of Belarus in a dialogue with its international counterparts on the abolition of death penalty 15 and also welcomes the timid efforts to launch a debate on the issue at the national level. 16 The readiness of the Government to start a public conversation on the matter of the death penalty, including through the work of the parliamentary working group on the death penalty, is a positive step.17 Nevertheless, these developments do not in and of themselves constitute a discontinuance of the practice widely considered as an inhumane and ineffective disincentive to crime. The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government of Belarus to consider the experience of abolitionist countries and to undertake concrete measures, such as the introduction of a moratorium on all executions, as a first step towards full abolition of death penalty. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 A/HRC/41/52, para. 22. See https://dp.spring96.org/en/news/94940. See www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur49/1493/2019/en/. See https://dp.spring96.org/en/news/94680. See www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur49/1845/2020/en/. See http://spring96.org/be/news/95680 (in Belarusian). See http://spring96.org/en/news/95829. See http://spring96.org/ru/news/96169 (in Russian). There are three cases, if one counts the alleged but unconfirmed execution of Viachaslau Sucharko. See http://spring96.org/en/news/90005. See https://dp.spring96.org/ru/news/93191 (in Russian). www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/EUR4905352019ENGLISH.pdf; and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, “Belarus: UN human rights experts denounce execution”, press release, 1 July 2019. See www.house.gov.by/ru/news-ru/view/1-oktjabrja-goda-parlamentskaja-delegatsija-v-sostavezamestitelja-predsedatelja-postojannoj-komissii-61977-2019/ (in Russian). See www.house.gov.by/ru/interview-ru/view/vopros-ob-otmene-smertnoj-kazni-v-belarusi-dolzhenreshatsja-s-uchetom-mnenija-ljudej-5959/ (in Russian). See https://dp.spring96.org/ru/news/95644 (in Russian). 5