Belarus to Review Tens of Thousands of Sentences

The Belarusian government is poised to review sentences for several tens of thousands of cases. This was announced by Valery Kalinkovich, First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court of Belarus.

President Lukashenko has signed a law which comprehensively changes the criminal justice system, amending the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code.

"The main goal is to humanize and soften the law. These laws and amendments apply to several dozen criminal cases," he said.

The laws also state that amendments, which are more favorable to the accused, will be applied to cases where the crimes were committed before the revised law.

"This means that courts will apply the law not only to future cases, but will also review tens of thousands of previous sentences. This is in accordance with the new laws," he said.