On February 21, Belarusian president Alyaksandr Lukashenka met with Investigative Committee Chairman Ivan Naskevich and Prosecutor General Alyaksandr Kanyuk. He also announced a meeting of the country’s law enforcement agencies.
During the meeting the participants will review the year of 2018 and discuss topical issues.
Talking to Ivan Noskevich, the Belarusian leader focused on the problem of punishing innocent people:
“Over the recent years, especially in view of [the cases of] the doctors and those scoundrels who stole food from schoolchildren, many people believe that doctors should not have been jailed. All citizens are equal in the eyes of the law, but we must bear in mind one thing: neither God nor the people will forgive us if we punish the innocent. If we cannot prove their guilt, we’d better let a person alone. If one is a scoundrel, they will land up in prison sooner or later. On no account should we hurt a guiltless person,” the presidential press service quotes Lukashenka.
According to him, in the Soviet era, the police descended to any means in order to solve a crime. “It will be better if we leave it unsolved than ‘solve’ and pin it on an innocent person,” he said.
in the light of the foregoing, one can recall the explosion that killed 15 people in the Minsk metro on April 11, 2011. Over 200 people were injured. Six months after the terrorist attack, the Supreme Court found Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzislau Kavaliou guilty of organizing the crime. The death verdict triggered a mixed reaction in society and drew attention to the death penalty issue once again.
Uladzislau Kavaliou filed a petition for pardon addressed to Alyaksandr Lukashenka as far back as beginning of December, 2011. His mother, Lyubou Kavaliova, was fighting for the son’s life from the moment of his arrest till his execution: she urged Lukashenka to order the one-year postponement of the execution of her son. But in vain: Uladzislau Kavaliou and Dzmitry Kanavalau were executed in March, 2012. Many people still believe the case to be controversial and wonder why the Belarusian leader took such a hasty decision.
belsat.eu
