Europe's first ever execution-free year undone by Belarus

For the first time ever, no one was executed anywhere on the continent of Europe last year, according to Amnesty International's annual executions report, a human rights record that was undone just a few days ago when Belarus executed two individuals some time around 18 March.

While the European Union outlaws capital punishment from Lapland to Lisbon and campaigns for its universal abolition, and a total of 48 out of 50 European states have abolished the practice, Belarus is the last Eu...