Belarusian Interior Minister Uladzimir Navumaw said...

Belarusian Interior Minister Uladzimir Navumaw said that it is premature to abolish capital punishment in this country. He stated this while visiting, together with deputies of the Belarusian National Assembly's House of Representatives [lower house of parliament], a high-security jail in Hlybokaye, Vitsebsk Region. This is the only facility in Belarus in which very dangerous repeat offenders serve their time.
"At this stage of development of our society, capital punishment as the exceptional punishment measure should be retained," Navumaw said, adding that not only the Belarusian public but also convicts themselves held this opinion.
The minister said that in 2001, Belarusian courts sentenced 40 persons to life imprisonment, while only seven persons were sentenced to capital punishment.
"This shows that this kind of punishment is exceptional. However, the gravity of crimes committed is such that people will not understand us if the criminals are not punished," Navumaw said.
Navumaw also believed that capital punishment was also a deterrent against a rise in crime in Belarus.[Parliament is to debate the abolishment of the death penalty on 30 May.]