According to Mr. Housha quoted by Belarusian Legal Portal, they are indignant at the very form of the denial: ‘your application for holding a picket in Baranavičy is not in line with the normative acts’.
In their address to the prosecutor’s office the human rights defenders point at the fact that the normative acts they allegedly violated weren’t specified in the text of the denial.
Besides, the officials exceeded the legal terms for answering. According to the law, the answer was to have been submitted five days before the action, but was submitted just two days prior to it.
Even had the applicants received a positive answer, they wouldn’t have had enough time for preparing to the picket.
On 24 September the local human rights defenders applied to Baranavičy city executive committee for authorization of the picket aimed at drawing the public attention to the continuing use of the death penalty in the country.
Man sentenced to death pled clemency
The decision of the President on clemency could be another move to demonstrate the development of official Minsk’s attitude to the capital punishment.
Vasil Yuzepchuk found guilty in murders of 6 elderly women in Brest (South West Belarus) pled pardon on 16 October.
His lawyer stated new circumstances can emerge proving the innocence of his client. The execution would make correction of the mistake impossible, he said.
It is now up to the Clemency Commission and the President Aliaksandr Lukashenka to decide upon his life.
Belarusian HR defenders are also concerned about the imminent execution. "Since the life of a person which is the highest value is at stake, we hope for an unbiased case examination", – said Uladzimir Labkovich of Viasna HR Center.
Amnesty International has urged Mr Lukashenka to grant clemency to Yuzepchuk to demonstrate the readiness of Belarus "to make Europe a death penalty free zone".
