Suit In Belarus Seeks Religious Burial For Executed Murderer

According to a report published yesterday by Forum 18, in Belarus the mother of convicted murderer Andrei Zhuk who was executed in March has filed a civil suit in Lenin District Court in Minsk seeking to obtain her son's body for religious burial.  The suit against the Ministry of Interior's Department for the Execution of Punishments claims that the refusal to release Zhuk's body or tell his mother where he is buried violates the religious exercise rights of Zhuk's mother protected under Art. 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Article 21 of the Belarus Constitution obligates the government to guarantee rights specified in the country's international obligations.