♪ ♪ anchor: hello and a very warm welcome to "focus on europe," with some of the best personal stories behind the headlines. great you could join us. on today's program -- in belarus, a mother with nowhere to mourn. in paris, cleaning the air. and in sweden, marvelling at the sky. belarus is often called "europe's last dictatorship" by western journalists. but over the last year, the crisis in ukraine has distracted the west from worrying about

alleged human rights abuses there -- and, after hosting ukraine peace talks in the capital minsk, the country's president alexander lukashenko is even keen now to portray himself somewhat as a peacemaker. but the problems in belarus are still very much there - as our reporters found out when they met up with a mother who says her son was wrongly executed. reporter: lubov kovalyova feels compelled to speak about her pain -- again and again. she tells how her son vladislav was executed in march three years ago. he was 26 years old. his mother doesn't know where to go with her grief. she doesn't know where her son was buried. lubov: we don't have a grave. that's why, when our neighbors heard that vlad was no longer alive, they laid flowers right in front of our door. and now here they are.

he was such a good-looking, intelligent boy. a good boy. reporter: vladislav kovalyova and a friend were accused of setting off a bomb in the minsk subway in april 2011. 15 people died in the attack. some human rights activists regard the proceedings against them as a show trial based on coerced, false confessions. but they were both found guilty, sentenced to death, and shot in the back of the neck. lubov kovalyova is convinced her son was an innocent victim of arbitrary justice in the style of belarusian despot alexander lukashenko. lubov: in our case, there were specific instructions to find them guilty and kill them. maybe they wanted to intimidate our society.

maybe there was a political background. reporter: the death sentences were carried out in march 2012 in this prison in the middle of belarus's capital, minsk. this animated film shows how the last minutes of vladislav's life may have played out. the human rights group "vesna" had the film made to make people think about capital punishment. [gunshot] vesna's activists maintain contact with the many grieving mothers who are not even allowed to bury their sons. human rights activities are very difficult in authoritarian belarus. and president lukashenko says the death penalty is indispensable in the fight against crime. andrei: we call for the abolition of the death penalty.

because when a country has the death penalty, any procedural error can have dramatic consequences. it can lead to taking an innocent life. reporter: a man living in berlin knows belarus's death row from the inside -- oleg alkaev. he headed belarus's execution squad for five years. then, in 2001, he ran afoul of his country's justice system and received political asylum in germany. in his old job, he was in charge of the shootings of more than 130 people. he says he didn't realize how cruel the death penalty was until he lived in germany. he followed lubov kovalyova's struggle for a pardon for her son. oleg: lukashenko has never pardoned anyone. but in this case, he could have done it. this boy had no blood on his hands. he was found guilty only of aiding and abetting. but they shot him dead. he should have had a chance for

a pardon. reporter: three men were executed in belarus again last year. president lukashenko rejected their appeals and petitions for clemency. lubov kovalyova intends to continue her struggle against the death penalty in belarus. lubov: there should be no more cases like ours. innocent people should no longer be condemned just because someone thinks they have an advantage from it. i don't want more mothers to suffer. reporter: lubov kovalyova hopes to learn some day where her vladislav now lies. then she'll have a place to take her grief. anchor: a very sad story. do get in touch if you have comments about that, or any of the stories on today's

program. but now to our series "europe's squares," where we take you to some of the most interesting piazzas and plazas in europe. and today we're off to barcelona, in spain -- one of my all-time favourites cities -- and to the square in front of the sagrada familia cathedral. now, it's gaudi's most famous work -- which is why millions of tourists come every year. i have to say when i last visited it wasn't exactly a relaxing experience being squeezed in between the crowds. but for local residents it's even worse. they say the entire neighbourhood is being ruined. reporter: it's arcelona's number one tourist draw, la

sagrada familia. antoni gaudi's still-uncompleted basilica, with its innovative design and construction, has a way of amazing and enchanting nearly every visitor. japanese tourist: it's amazing. i don't know how to describe it, but it was kind of my dream to come here. dutch tourist: i'm in the city for eight hours, and i thought this was something that i ought to see. spanish tourist: i think it's wonderful to have a square across from the church, a place of quiet before you enter the building. reporter: more than three million visitors come to sagrada familia each year. that can leave little room for locals, who like to visit the square across the street. norman: also, people who live in the district here love this place. anyway, squares are part of the spanish culture. people sit here in the shade, they gossip about the neighbors, and discuss the politics.

spain without the so-called "plaza" is unimaginable. reporter: for these two men, the placa sagrada familia is a part of their lives. fernando lastra and fransisco bohera have lived here with their families for forty years. this is their home, where they raised their children. but the increasing tourist activity is getting on their nerves. francisco: we used to have a quiet neighborhood here, where you could go for a nice, relaxed stroll. and now there's this ruckus. fernando: it's become an amusement park with all the trappings -- tourists, buses, hustlers, pickpockets, and so on. reporter: for years, these men and the local neighborhood association have been fighting to preserve the original character of the area. bakeries and fish shops have hade to make way for businesses catering to tourists.

joan: what we have here is a real monoculture of souvenir shops and fast food restaurants. they have a lot of economic power. that's why the rents for businesses have gone up so much. and that has a negative effect on the diversity of the neighborhood. reporter: one of the last food markets that's been able to stand up to competition from tourist businesses is a little way off from the church. it's mostly local residents who shop here, and the market rarely sees tourists as customers. maria: they usually come in groups and don't have any time. only the ones traveling alone sometimes stop in and look around, but they don't buy a lot. reporter: the city government is trying to halt the disappearance of small food markets. they've closed down a few

souvenir shops, especially those that had opened by outmanuevering the authorities. albert: the shops open under false pretenses. they claim to sell something else, but gradually, they transform into souvenir shops. so we have to be especially vigiliant and take immediate action, to make sure this doesn't happen. reporter: but francisco bohera, fernando lastra, and their neighbors have no faith in the urban planners. they've known for some time that entire apartment blocks around placa sagrada familia are slated to be torn down. the church and the hordes of tourists are set to grow, and the long-time locals have to make way. francisco: we've spent our whole lives here. this is our neighborhood, our memories, everyhing. -- everything. will they be able to provide

housing for us nearby under the same conditions as here? hardly. everything we've built up over forty, sixty, seventy years, we'll lose. reporter: the urban planners' dream is the local residents' nightmare. but the millions of visitors are unlikely to notice any of that. they might notice that the area around la sagrada familia reflects less and less of the catalan way of life -- a charm that will be increasingly lost. anchor: here in germany over the last few weeks, the question of bailing out greece financially has become a hot topic. it seems you can't go to a dinner party here without everyone's analysing the latest greek budget. that's because german taxpayers know they'll end up paying if things go wrong. this debate is often portrayed as a row between richer, fiscally conservative germany and poorer, anti-austerity greece -- but in fact many other eu countries want greece to pay

back its debts, particularly those, such as portugal, which have gone through their own tough austerity programs. reporter: this elderly woman barely has enough money for a few beans. no, the portuguese economy still isn't doing very well. a visit to the market can be revealing, like here in porto. the merchants say business has improved a little, but they still see that many live in or close to poverty. fatima teixera and her husband have run a fruit stand here for many years. fatima: of course we've felt the crisis. after all, we live from our business, and if you sell less, then you earn less. and when you earn less, you have to tighten your belt. reporter: though the country's economic recovery is still fragile, fatima teixera thinks portugal has made the right decision to pay back part of its emergency credit. and she doesn't understand why the greeks, in a similar situation, react so differently.

fatima: portugal has sacrificed. we all did. if the greeks can't pay back now, then they should be given more time. but they have to pay. i'm a great friend of the greeks, but they too have to pay. reporter: fatima isn't alone with her opinion. the portuguese apparently think differently from the greeks. aurora: the average portuguese person just can't imagine not repaying our debts. objectively viewed, we have lots of worries. we still can't afford very much. and of course we don't know whether we'll manage to get a grip on our country's social problems. reporter: those problems are still massive. the charity soup kitchens are full. the minimum wage is lower than anywhere else in the european union -- 550 euros a month. and the jobless rate is still 13%. but there is some positive news.

companies are investing in new equipment, and work productivity is rising. fatima teixera says in the future, the state will just have to raise and spend revenues more intelligently. like she does. anchor: but now to paris -- one of the most beautiful cities in europe, but also one of the most polluted. mainly because of all the cars. many years ago, i can remember spending a summer there, and cycled round all the time -- which was surprisingly easy, mainly because you could avoid all the traffic jams. the city's government says they now want to promote more cycling -- but also start restricting cars coming into paris. reporter: "under the skies of paris," sings zaz, "the air is made for the happiness of lovers." something must have gone wrong

there. at any rate, this day in march didn't seem like a day for lovers. it was a miserable day for everyone, whether lovestruck or not. the reason paris was shrouded in smog is the fine particulate air pollution. it was thirty times the recommended level. since then, paris has repsonded with emergency measures and police spot-checks when levels get too high. some 5.5 mmillion cars fill the streets of paris each day. pierre patuel lives on the outskirts of paris. he has a chronic lung disease as a result of the constant fine particulate air pollution. pierre: in 2013, i was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, similar to a smoker's lung. when you get that diagnosis, they don't initially tell you what has caused it.

and if you go to a lung specialist, he'll tell you to stop smoking. well, that's easier said than done in my case, because i've never smoked. reporter: patuel now takes medication daily. as the boss of a small company, he works mainly from home. but when he does leave his home, he first tests the air quality and tries to protect himself as well as possible from the fine dust particulates. pierre: usually, on a day like today, i wouldn't go out, because i know that the degree of pollution is quite high. i've been told a mask doesn't help much, but i wear it anyway, for the little bit that it does help. i'd rather take precautions. the time between when i breathe in polluted air and when i have an allergic reaction is around 48 hours.

it's better if we go in again. it's getting to be too much for me. reporter: the air that has become a health risk for patuel is a leisure attraction for others. this hot-air balloon rises over paris several times a day. tourists enjoy a view from 150 meters up. but the balloon serves another purpose, too. it has a gauge that measures the fine particulate air pollution in the upper levels of the sky. the detected pollutants are analyzed at the independent organisation airparif. then the source of the air pollution can be deduced. amelie: a large part of the particles comes from road traffic. other parts come from chimneys, from agriculture, or are due to construction, for instance. reporter: when the pollution exceeds acceptable limits, airparif sounds the alarm. and that's happened more often in recent years.

paris mayor anne hidalgo says that among the causes, it's diesel emissions that can be most effectively tackled. so she wants to implement a radical reform, a ban on diesel-powered vehicles in the streets of paris, even those owned by tourists. she wants to see the most polluting vehicles disappear from the center of paris starting in july. bernard: you have to take several different measures. people who own a diesel-powered vehicle have to find an alternative form of transportation. so we have to find support and incentives. but we also have to implement bans on the most polluting vehicles. reporter: mayor hidalgo's predecessor had also tried to create a more environmentally friendly paris. he introduced taxis with hybrid engines and a public bicycle rental system. but those measures aren't enough for hidalgo. she wants all public vehicles with diesel engines, such as buses and garbage trucks, to

disappear by 2020. not everyone in diesel-loving france is thrilled by these reform proposals. pierre: every other eu member is increasing its number of diesel-powered vehicles. only we in france are doing it the other way around. now that diesel cars are getting cleaner, we're banning them. and back when diesel was so dirty, the french were given buying incentives. france is completely crazy! reporter: still, 84% of parisians are in favor of radical measures against the bad air. as zaz sings, "hope blossoms, in the skies of paris." anchor: finally to the far north of sweden, where a very different type of safari is starting to take off. particularly adventurous tourists can now go on the hunt

for not animals, but lights -- the northern lights, that spectacular natural light show that at certain times of the year sets the sky on fire. reporter: aurora borealis -- the northern lights appear when charged particles from the solar wind enter the earth's atmosphere at the poles. american photographer chad blakely came here to abisko in lapland some years ago, following his heart. now he organizes photo safaris for tourists. he makes a fire in an old saami hut to give his clients a place to thaw out from the minus-20-degree-celsius temperatures.

chad: our first season in 2012, we had thirteen guests. the second season, we had pretty exponential growth and had 500 guests. the third season, which was just last year now, we had nearly 1500 guests. and i'm overwhelmed to say that this season we're on track for closer to 6000 or 7000 guests. so i think your description of a boom is exactly right. reporter: abisko is an isolated village in the cold vastness of lapland, with a steady population of just 654. the tourist station used to be only open during the summer -- but not in winter, the main season for the northern lights. the manager of the 300-bed lodging is more than satisfied with the year-round bookings. helena: it started with a japanese man who read on the internet that this is the best place anywhere on earth to see the aurora. so he flew direct from tokyo to

rovaniemi, took the train to kiruna, and came on up here. everything was closed -- we never used to open in winter. and so the idea was born that we could develop the business. reporter: john lee and his wife jennifer hoh come from malaysia but live in london. they've been wanting to see the northern lights for years. they can hardly wait to get started as they don their polar overalls. john: now we're going onto the top of the mountain dressed like this, and the next twenty minute going to be even colder, hence why we're dressing like this. reporter: the twenty-minute ride is in a chairlift built for the skiers here.

at the top, it's colder, windy -- and cloudy. john and jennifer watch and wait, but this time, they're out of luck. jennifer: we see the moon. john: we see the moon. that's it! it's been a really good experience. i'm a little disappointed that you can't see any lights. reporter: but a breathtaking view of the countryside at night makes up for it. the next evening, it's time for the photo safari. serene tan and her friend ann goh came here from singapore. they're determined to get pictures of the northern lights. as a professional photographer, chad blakely can tell them how to get good ones. chad: for aurora photography, we're taking five, ten, twenty -- sometimes thirty-second exposures. because of that, if we tried to hold the camera, it would shake, so we need our friend, the tripod.

reporter: dressed for arctic temperatures and equipped with cameras and safety lamps, they head out into the darkness. the weather forecast is optimistic. the two bank employees from singapore are hopeful. serene: we've never seen it before, and we've heard that it's actually the peak now, so we just want to try our luck. ann: we heard that it's really beautiful, and it's a must-see thing, like, you must see it in your life. reporter: the less ground-light the better -- that includes the video lights. suddenly, the sky lights up in green. even the experienced photographer has lost none of his sense of wonder -- as if he were seeing it for the very first time.

john: this is fantastic. i've second exposures. this is absolutely unbelievable. reporter: the aurora borealis draws row upon row of glowing curtains across the sky. ann and serene are glad they came. ann: we came all this way here. and we finally saw it. serene: it's worth it. you can't really describe it. reporter: the spectacular show in the heavens will last for a few more hours -- the northern lights, on this polar night in the far north of sweden. anchor: amazing. that really is spectacular. well, that's it for today. do get in touch with me on twitter -- and i'll tweet you back! but in the meantime, thanks very much for watching. and see you next week -- same time, same place.

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♪ ♪ a garment factory on the outskirts of phnom