Lukashenko refused to pardon those executed

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that he refuses to pardon Dmitry Konovalov and Vladislav Kovalev, sentenced to death for committing a terrorist attack in the Minsk metro. This decision of the president was reported by the Belarus 1 TV channel. The statement emphasizes that when making the decision, it was taken into account that “acts of terrorism and crimes involve the killing of a large number of people and the infliction of numerous bodily injuries on citizens.” Lukashenko's statement coincided with the celebration of Constitution Day in Belarus.

At a press conference in Minsk, where Vladislav Kovalev’s mother and “Human Rights Defenders Against the Death Penalty” were present, it was stated that the lawyer had not been able to see his client for two days. “How could such a decision be made if a supervisory complaint has not yet been written?” - said Lyubov Kovaleva. She found it difficult to bear the news of Lukashenko's decision, but she still believes her son is innocent and will fight for him, Kovalev's mother said at a press conference.

Lyubov Kovaleva (right). Photo: Reuters

Human rights activists who participated in the press conference told PublicPost that Konovalov and Kovalev were not present in the prison on Volodarsky Street, where executions of prisoners take place. The staff of the institution did not specify whether it was there yet or no longer. It is unknown where Kovalev and Konovalov are. “We do not exclude that they could have been executed even before Lukashenko’s statement,” the association “Human Rights Defenders Against the Death Penalty” told PublicPost .

“Executions in Belarus take place under the veil of mystery. Relatives are not given the body after the execution, the time of death is not stated. We, “Human Rights Defenders Against the Death Penalty,” an association that includes Amnesty International and two Belarusian human rights organizations - “Viasna” and Belarusian Helsinki committee, we will demand a moratorium on the death penalty, which will save the lives of Vlad Kovalev and Konovalov. Do not forget that another person, Igor Myalik, is also awaiting a decision regarding Kovalev, we submitted an appeal to the UN Human Rights Committee, there was one. registered. The Committee appealed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus with a request that the sentence not be carried out until the merits of the case were considered. Despite the fact that Belarus signed an agreement with the UN, there have already been cases when the opinion of the UN was not paid to. This is the execution of Burdyk and Grishkovtsov. July 2011 and the case of Andrei Zhuk, he was shot in 2010,” a member of the Human Rights Defenders Against the Death Penalty association told PublicPost .

It was not possible to obtain any information from Kovalev’s lawyer Stanislav Abrazei - lawyers of those sentenced to death cannot give comments to the media, since they signed a non-disclosure document, otherwise they could be deprived of their license.

The Supreme Court of Belarus on November 30, 2011 sentenced Konovalov and Kovalev to capital punishment - the death penalty . He found Konovalov guilty of malicious and especially malicious hooliganism, deliberate destruction of property, illegal acquisition, storage, transportation of explosives and explosive devices, terrorism involving the murder of people.

In April 2011, an explosion at the Oktyabrskaya metro station in Minsk killed 15 people and injured more than 200. The arrested Vladislav Kovalev did not admit his guilt and submitted a petition for pardon to the president. Dmitry Konovalov did not submit a petition for pardon, admitting his guilt.