Alexander Taratuta, 49, has been executed in Belarus for the horrific murder of his three-year-old son Semyon, who was tortured and starved. His wife, Anastasia Taratuta, 40, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after both were convicted in 2023.
Taratuta was shot by a state executioner in Belarus, the only country in Europe with a death penalty. His wife avoided capital punishment because Belarus does not carry out executions on women.
Execution and Conviction
According to Andrei Paluda, coordinator of the Human Rights Defenders Against the Death Penalty in Belarus, Taratuta was secretly executed on Monday. Belarus does not officially disclose when criminals are put to death. The death sentence was handed down in January 2024.
The court heard how the “wealthy” Taratuta couple inflicted a life of “pure hell” on their son, who weighed only 15 lbs when he died. A paramedic described him as “like a skeleton, covered in skin.” The child was forced to sleep on bare linoleum flooring and was often left numb from the cold.
Abuse and Fatal Blow
The court heard that his mother regularly punched him, threw him at her husband or against a wall, and chucked objects at him as punishment for soiling the floor. He was regularly deprived of food and often taunted by his parents.
One court report said: “His parents, instead of watching over him, simply insulted, humiliated and beat him.” A picture on the toddler’s gravestone shows the boy with an injured nose due to the abuse.
His father denied being abusive and claimed he was just “educating” him. In January 2023, he kicked Semyon in the head “to make him sit on the floor.” The toddler fell and “showed no signs of life.” A paramedic noted: “The boy was very thin, like a skeleton, covered in skin, looking like an African child with a big belly. There was an abrasion on his head and a piece of hair was missing.” His eye socket was “torn almost to the temple” after the fatal blow.
Motivation and Final Statement
Belarus’ general prosecutor said the pair were motivated by “personal hostility” towards Semyon and had intended to kill him. The couple had two other children, their eldest daughter who they treated like a “princess” and their youngest child who they also reportedly gave lots of attention to. Following Semyon's death, his mother went and bought lollipops for her two other children.
In his final statement to the court, Alexander said he regretted that his life had “turned out this way.” He said: “There were no intentions, no conspiracies. I didn’t want to kill, there were no such thoughts.” He added that he was sorry the last strike was “too strong.”
Belarus is the only country in Europe where the death penalty still exists. Those on death row are blindfolded and forced to kneel before being shot in the back of the head, a method dating back to executions carried out during Stalin's Soviet era.
