A woman whose two brothers are on death row in Belarus after being found guilty of murder has told how her family won’t know when they are shot – or where they are buried.
Hanna Kostseva was in court when 19-year-old Stanislaw and 21-year-old Ilya, who all grew up together in Cherykaw, close to the Russian border, received their verdict and execution order in January – and told how the courtroom ‘clapped’ in approval.
The brothers were arrested in April 2019 for stabbing their neighbour to death and setting fire to her house in ‘revenge’ for her complaining about Hanna’s children and suggesting they were taken into care, reports the BBC.
Belarus is the only country in Europe which still operates the death penalty, having not been carried out in any other European nation since 1996.
Hanna Kostseva was in court when 19-year-old Stanislaw and 21-year-old Ilya, who all grew up together in Cherykaw, close to the Russian border, received their verdict and execution order in January – and told how the courtroom ‘clapped’ in approval
Hanna argued the judgement is denying her brothers their ‘right to repent’ for their actions and said killers should be sentenced to a life in prison.
‘Not everyone leaves prison alive, but you have to live through it, to bear it and then be released with a sense of repentance,’ she told the BBC.
‘I’m not justifying them in any way – they are guilty, you shouldn’t take a person’s life. In one moment, they crossed out someone’s life as well as their own and ours.’
Hanna described feeling like her own life had been ‘cut short’ when the judge read out the verdict to ‘apply an exceptional measure of punishment in the form of execution’.
The brothers were arrested in April 2019 for stabbing their neighbour to death and setting fire to her house in ‘revenge’ for her complaining about Hanna’s children and suggesting they were taken into care
‘People in the courtroom began to clap,’ she recalled. ‘Initially, just one started, then another followed, then a third, and in the whole hall only applause was heard.’
She managed to approach her brothers and hugged them through the bars of the cage they were in, and promised to do all she could to save them. She has since moved 90 miles away after being hounded out of her hometown.
However, it’s unlikely the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, granted the family’s request for clemency – something he’s only ever done once in 25 years.
In April, he told a Russian radio station that the boys are ‘scum’, adding: ‘There’s no other word for them. They have been in trouble before and have been punished.
Hanna, pictured holding a childhood photo of her younger brothers, managed to hug them through the bars of the cage they were in, and promised to do all she could to save them. She has since moved 90 miles away after being hounded out of her hometown
‘They killed a teacher – only because she wanted to save two of their sister’s children. Their sister is a nothing – an asocial element. The teacher only tried to protect the kids and take them out of the family. These two were knifing her all night.’
Hanna’s mother Natalya was unable to attend the sentencing to hear her sons’ fate due to the fact she owes the Belarus government money from when they were taken into care.
After her husband died almost 20 years ago, Natalya worked all hours to provide for her family but acknowledged she wasn’t a perfect mother, with visiting social workers noting she’d been drinking.
When Stanislaw and Ilya were 14 and 16, they were taken away from her after being caught fighting and playing truant from school.
Hanna’s mother Natalya was unable to attend the sentencing to hear her sons’ fate due to the fact she owes the Belarus government money from when they were taken into care
The brothers are being held at a detention centre in the centre of Minsk, where it is believed they will be executed
They were put into a state-run children’s home, with Natalya required to pay for their care. She still owes around £3,190 and a chunk of her small salary is deducted each month – which will continue after her sons die to pay her debt.
Due to the fact she’d missed some payments, she was not allowed to leave Minsk to visit her sons until the money was paid – meaning the only contact she’s had with her sons since their arrest has been via letter.
The brothers are being held at a detention centre in the centre of Minsk, where it is believed they will be executed. Afterwards Hanna will be sent a package containing their belongings and a note to say their punishment has been carried out.
Hanna told the BBC she ‘won’t go on living’ if she loses them, adding: ‘I don’t want to.’