31 Jan 2018 12:26

Five death sentences given in Belarus in 2017

MINSK. Jan 31 (Interfax) - Belarusian courts handed down five death sentences and three life sentences in 2017, Belarusian Supreme Court First Deputy Chairman Valery Kalinkovich said.

"Five [people] received death sentences and three people received life sentences [in 2017]," Kalinkovich said at a press conference in Minsk on Wednesday in response to a question from journalists.

It should be taken into account that a life sentence is an alternative to the death penalty, he said. "We have two measures of extraordinary punishment: life in prison and the death penalty," he said.