Capital punishment in Belarus

Belarus is the only country in Europe that continues to carry out the death penalty. As of early 2025, capital punishment remains a legal penalty, with at least one execution confirmed in 2022 and a death sentence issued in 2024. The death penalty has been part of Belarus's legal system since its independence from the Soviet Union on August 25, 1991.

The current national constitution permits the death penalty for "especially grave crimes." The list of capital offenses was expanded in 2023 to include high treason.

A 1996 referendum on the issue saw 80.44% of voters support retaining the punishment; the Belarusian government consequently contends that the death penalty can only be abolished via another nationwide vote. Its continued use has drawn widespread condemnation from international organizations, including the United Nations, which criticize both the practice itself and the methods employed. The application of capital punishment is one of the main reasons for Belarus's exclusion from the Council of Europe.

History

The Belarusian Democratic Republic, as the first Belarusian state, was too short-lived to establish a codified legal system, and thus, it held no specific legal position on the death penalty.

Belarusian SSR

Until 1928, Belarus operated under the Russian legal code. When Belarus enacted its own criminal code in 1928, it introduced the death penalty for 38 crimes. Significantly, this code described capital punishment as a temporary measure. Of these 38 offenses, only two were crimes against individuals: armed robbery and murder committed by a serviceman. Exceptions to the death penalty were made for pregnant women and individuals under 18 years old. A 1935 decree, effective until 1959, lowered the age limit for execution to 12.