30/11/2016 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 30 November, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service condemned the executions of Ivan Kulesh (see EUROPE 11522) and Sergei Khmelevsky (see EUROPE 11547) in Belarus in November. "The continued application of the death penalty goes counter to Belarus' stated willingness to engage with the international community, including the EU, on the matter and to consider the introduction of a moratorium on the use of the death penalty", the spokesperson said in a press release, stating that Khmelevsky's case was still going through the appeals procedure under the UN Human Rights Committee. Reiterating the EU's opposition to the death penalty, the spokesperson called on Minsk to commute the remaining death sentences and to establish without delay a moratorium on executions as a first step towards abolition of the death penalty. (CG)