Amnesty Calls On Belarus To Put Moratorium On Death Penalty

Members and supporters of Amnesty International in Zurich joined a smartmob to protest against the death penalty in Belarus in August.

Amnesty International is calling on authorities in Belarus to "introduce an immediate moratorium on executions."

Amnesty's statement on October 24 came after the Belarus Supreme Court overturned a death sentence the previous day.

The court overturned the death sentence on 25-year-old Alyaksandr Hrnou after ruling there were procedural mistakes in the investigation of murder charges against him.

Amnesty International called the ruling "a step in the right direction" but said a moratorium on the death penalty should be imposed and capital punishment eventually abolished in Belarus.

Hrnou was found guilty of murdering a young woman and was sentenced to death at a trial last June. There are two other people on death row in Belarus, the only European country to still carry out executions.

The country executed three people last year.