The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights together with the Horizon Group Against the Death Penalty called President Alexander Lukashenko to pardon Dmitry Konovalov and Vladislav Kovalyov, the two men sentenced to death for bombing the underground railway in Minsk. According to the organisations such a ‘humanitarian gesture’ would be ‘worthy’ of the nation led by Mr Lukashenko.
The authors of the appeal say that the pardon would be a sign of power rather than weakness of Belarus.
‘We assure you, Mr President, and the victims of the bombing alike, that we condemn the deed but for fundamental reasons we consider the death penalty contrary to human rights’, reads the statement.
From June 2022 to November 2024, Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) implemented a 30-month regional project that provided opportunities for emergency support for Ukrainian civil society and independent media in the wake of the full-scale Russian invasion. The project was funded by the European Union and implemented by ERIM-led coalition of partners, including including Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House, Black Sea Trust, East Europe Foundation, Human Rights House Tbilisi and HRHF.
Hennadii Vypynashko is a Ukrainian human rights defender who coordinated the Protection Program of the Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv for over 2.5 years, supporting civil society representatives affected by Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine. In this interview, he shares stories about supported human rights defenders and journalists, his motivation, and key takeaways from his experience.
Maryna Savchenko is a journalist from the Kherson region. Following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the occupation of the Kherson region, she stayed in the city to report on the situation for the outside world for as long as she could while facing increasing threats. In this interview, she gives insight into her work and life under occupation, the story of her escape and the support she received to sustain herself.
