Łukašenka introduces bill to ease punishment for drug-related crimes

August 8, Pozirk. Alaksandar Łukašenka has introduced a bill to the House of Representatives to ease punishment for drug-related crimes under Article 328 of the Criminal Code, his press office reported.

The bill proposes a more lenient punishment – a jail term of up to three months – for drug possession, and restricted freedom sentences for one count of illicit drug sale.

Possession is punishable by a restricted freedom sentence of up to five years or a prison sentence of two to five years under Part 1 of Article 328 currently in force.

A single count of sale is punishable by five to eight years in prison under Part 2 of the same article.

The legislation would also reduce from 10 years to eight years the minimum sentence for drug sale as part of an organized group.

The move comes as a big surprise because officials have recently rejected proposals from Mothers 328, a group that has campaigned for many years for leniency for people convicted of drug-related offenses.

Also read: Belarus convicts more than 1,000 of drug crimes in six months