Minsk - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said the number of prisoners in Belarus was halved in the years of his tenure as president, although the law enforcement agencies are "more or less tough."
“I agree, not everything is good in Belarus. We are still behind in some things, but we are not Ukraine, not Russia, and not even the West. Our law enforcement agencies are working more or less thoroughly. I can’t say that the principle of inevitability of punishment is working worse in Belarus than in other countries. The number of people in jail was halved in the years of Lukashenko’s dictatorship,” Lukashenko was quoted by his press service as saying at a meeting addressing a bill envisioning comprehensive adjustment of the criminal legislation on Thursday, Aug. 7.
Lukashenko also said Belarusian legislation makes it possible to ensure law and order in the country. “That is, we are successfully using our legislation to combat crime and no one can accuse us of outing everyone in jail,” he said.
Speaking about the bill, Lukashenko said he evaluates it in terms of the use for the current situation and development of legal relations in Belarus.
At the end of the meeting, the president ordered a brief and clear analysis of the proposed changes on the most important articles. “However, I would like to say once again that we should not simplify [the legislation] in any case. We have too many violations, especially in the sphere of corruption, where we need to intensify our efforts, and we are also considering changes to the legislation on grave economic crimes. We are losing a lot of money here,” he said.
