Executions and death sentences continued to drop globally in 2017 after hitting record-high levels in previous years, with Iran and Pakistan remaining among the world’s top five executioners, Amnesty International said on April 12.
A Belarusian teenager serving a 15-year prison term after being convicted of killing a woman with a chainsaw in an attack on a shopping mall faces new charges and could be sentenced to life in prison.
Contempt shown by governments for independent institutions and civil society, attacks on the political opposition and independent media, as well as an incessant push to blend the ruling party with the state, are becoming the new normal in postcommunist Europe and Eurasia, U.S.-based democracy monitor Freedom House warns in its latest report.
Authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka has dangled the prospect of decreasing the ample powers of the president in Belarus, but suggested that such a change should not be expected in the near future.
Spanish authorities have broken up a cybercrime syndicate of Ukrainian and Russian nationals that allegedly stole more than 1 billion euros ($1.24 billion) from bank accounts over more than four years.
The European Union has called on Belarus to immediately release all the opposition activists who were arrested at the weekend as they attempted to hold an unsanctioned rally in the capital.
Europe's law enforcement agency says Spanish police have arrested the alleged mastermind of a cybercrime syndicate that stole more than 1 billion euros ($1.24 billion) from banks over more than four years.
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL.
Police have arrested more than 30 participants in a rally called on March 25 in downtown Minsk by opposition leader and former presidential candidate Mikalay Statkevich. The rally was not approved by the authorities.
Dozens of people have been arrested in Belarus as opposition activists attempted to hold a rally in the capital, Minsk.
Thirty-five members of the European Parliament have criticized the European Union’s position toward Belarus in a letter, saying that the bloc's relationship with Minsk is centered on economic cooperation, trade, and assistance instead of being focused on human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.
The European Union has criticized Belarus for executing convicted murderer Kiryl Kazachok and urged President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's government to abolish capital punishment.
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