A/HRC/25/60/Add.2 Government to take persistent, determined and effective measures to have all allegations of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment investigated promptly, effectively and impartially by an independent, competent domestic authority, as well as whenever there is reasonable ground to believe that such an act has been committed; to hold persons who encourage, order, tolerate or perpetrate such acts responsible, to have them brought to justice and punished in a manner commensurate with the gravity of the offence, including the officials in charge of the place of detention where the prohibited act is found to have been committed according to paragraph 7b of the Human Rights Council Resolution 16/23. Belarus (a) JUA 01/10/2013 Case No. BLR 3/2013 State reply: 18/12/2013 Alleged risk of executions. 28. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of Belarus for its detailed response, dated 18 December 2013, concerning the criminal cases against Messrs. Pavel Selyun, Rygor Yuzepchuk and Alyaksandr Haryunou, who were sentenced to death in 2013 under charges of murder. In relation to Messrs. Pavel Selyun and Rygor Yuzepchuk, the Government stated that the court’s verdict was based on the fact that the above-mentioned individuals committed particularly severe crimes and that they posed serious danger to society. The Government has further stated that the proceedings in the case of Mr. Selyun were held behind closed doors in order to prevent the disclosure of information about intimate details of the defendant’s life and the circumstances of the crime, in accordance with the requirements of Article 23, part 2 of the Criminal Procedural Code of Belarus. The Government stated that on 17 September 2013 and on 12 July 2013, the Supreme Court upheld the regional court’s sentence to death by firing squad against Mr. Selyun and Mr. Yuzepchuk, respectively. According to the Government, both Mr. Selyun and Mr. Yuzepchuk have submitted petition for pardon. In relation to Mr. Yuzepchuk, the Government stated that on 23 April 2013, the Mogilevskiy regional court has sentenced Mr. Yuzepchuk to death penalty by firing squad in a publicly held court hearing. In relation to Mr. Haryunou, the Government stated that on 22 October 2013, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus has repealed the verdict of the Gomelskiy regional court from 14 June 2013, in view of incomplete and one-sided judicial investigation, as well as due to inconsistency of the court’s conclusion with the factual circumstances of the case. The court ordered the Gomelskiy regional court to reconsider the case with a new composition of judges. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the decision of the Supreme Court repealing the regional court’s decision in relation to Mr. Haryunou. However, he regrets that the Government did not provide information on the legal grounds for the imposition of the death penalty against Mr. Haryunou, who was alleged to have been diagnosed with a psycho-social disability. 29. With respect to the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the death sentences against Messrs. Selyun and Yuzepchuk, the Special Rapporteur urges the Government of Belarus to take all steps to prevent their execution, which if carried out, would be inconsistent with acceptable standards of international human rights law. The Special Rapporteur draws the attention of the Government of Belarus to the Rapporteur’s report submitted to the UN General Assembly (A/67/279), in which he called upon all States to reconsider whether the use of the death penalty per se respects the inherent dignity of the human person, or instead causes severe mental and physical pain or suffering and thus constitutes a violation of the prohibitions of torture and of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (para. 79). Moreover, the Special Rapporteur called upon all retentionist States to observe rigorously the restrictions and conditions imposed by article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and articles 1 and 16 of the Convention against Torture (para. 80). 20