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Kavalyow maintains innocence in his appeal for presidential pardon

Uladzislaw Kavalyow maintains innocence in his appeal for a presidential pardon, the mother of the 25-year-old man, who was sentenced to death in the subway bombing case, told BelaPAN.

"Ulad [diminutive for Uladzislaw] does not admit his guilt, insists that he has nothing to do with the crime, says that there is no blood on his hands and his conscience is clean," Lyubow Kavalyow said.

She said that her son and his lawyer would try to appeal the sentence.

As a result of their trial held between September 15 and November 30, Mr. Kavalyow and his friend Dzmitry Kanavalaw, also aged 25, were convicted of the two 2005 bomb explosions in Vitsyebsk, the bomb attack that occurred during an open-air Independence Day concert in Minsk in July 2008 and the April 11, 2011 subway bombing that killed 15 people and injured more than 200. Mr. Kanavalaw was found guilty of perpetrating them, while Mr. Kavalyow of acting as his accomplice, as well as of failure to report the crimes or their preparation.

Mr. Kanavalaw, who was also sentenced to death, has not appealed to Alyaksandr Lukashenka for a pardon so far.