Belarus has responded to efforts by anti-war activists to sabotage the nation’s railway network by taking steps to make attempted terrorist attacks punishable by execution.
The former Soviet republic’s lower house of parliament approved plans on Wednesday to widen use of the death penalty, according to state-run media outlet Belta. The Belarus criminal code will be revised accordingly, if the upper house votes in favor of the plan and President Alexander Lukashenko signs it into law.
Sentences of capital punishment in Belarus are currently limited to cases involving “especially grave crimes,” such as terrorist acts that cause death, killings of police officers, or multiple murders. The proposed revision would give prosecutors discretion to seek the death penalty in cases where a suspect tries unsuccessfully to commit a terrorist act.