EU condemns the executions carried out in Belarus

The European Union condemns the two executions that that took place in Belarus in November of this year, the statement released by the Spokesperson of EU External Actions reads.

The advocates of Belarus have reported that two defendants Ivan Kulesh, who was accused of murdering three women, and Sergei Khmelevsky, who was accused of killing two people, were executed.

“The European Union condemns two executions, of Ivan Kulesh and Sergei Khmelevsky, that took place in Belarus. The continued application of the death penalty goes counter to Belarus' stated willingness to engage with the international community, including the EU, on the matter and to consider the introduction of a moratorium on the use of the death penalty.

We call on Belarus, the only country in Europe still applying capital punishment, to commute the remaining death sentences and to establish without delay a moratorium on executions as a first step towards abolition of the death penalty,” the statement reads.