The chief prosecutor's office in the breakaway Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) said on Wednesday that it had filed a request with LPR leader Leonid Pasechnik and the parliament, asking for harsher punishment, up to the death penalty, for crimes against the peace and security of humankind
LUHANSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd June, 2021) The chief prosecutor's office in the breakaway Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) said on Wednesday that it had filed a request with LPR leader Leonid Pasechnik and the parliament, asking for harsher punishment, up to the death penalty, for crimes against the peace and security of humankind.
The appeal comes as Luhansk prosecutors opened a criminal case against Belarusian opposition activist Roman Protasevich on suspicion of taking part in military action against civilians in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. He may face up to 20 years in prison or a life sentence under LPR legislation.
"The prosecutor general's office of the Luhansk People's Republic is asking members of the People's Council and the LPR leader to consider the possibility of toughening penalties, up to capital punishment, for crimes related to the use of prohibited means and methods of warfare, and genocide," the office said in a statement.
According to prosecutors, they have collected enough evidence of an inhumane attitude of Ukrainian nationalist battalion members alongside whom Protasevish is believed to have fought toward civilians in the conflict area to ask for tightening sanctions under some provisions of the LPR criminal code, namely, the punishment for crimes against the peace and security of humankind.
Protasevich was detained in Minsk on May 23 after disembarking from a Ryanair plane during an emergency stopover due to an alleged bomb threat which turned out to have been false. Minsk accuses him of helping to run the outlawed Nexta Telegram channel, which was behind last year's protests in Belarus. After the arrest, LPR prosecutors asked for Protasevich's extradition.
