The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area punishment. In autumn 2011, activists from Amnesty International helped to gather signatures for a global petition, calling on President Lukashenko to impose a moratorium on executions and commute death sentences as a first step towards abolition. The petition, which was originally launched by the Belarusian human rights organization Viasna, became the focus of Amnesty International’s 50th anniversary anti-death penalty campaign. Over 250,000 people around the world signed the petition. However, when Amnesty International and Belarusian campaigners attempted to deliver the petition to President Lukashenko on 9 December, they were turned away. 32 In its Concluding Observations from December 2011, the UN Committee against Torture raised numerous concerns on the issue of the death penalty in Belarus. These included reports of the poor conditions of death row inmates and the secrecy and arbitrariness surrounding executions, including reports that the families of convicts are informed days or weeks after the execution has taken place, that they are not given the opportunity for a last visit to the prisoner, that the body of the executed prisoner is not handed over to the family, and that the place of burial is not disclosed to them. The Committee also expressed concern “at reports that some death row prisoners are not provided with fundamental legal safeguards and the discrepancy between reports of the authorities and other various sources on this matter.”33 Legal framework The death penalty is a permissible sentence under the Constitution of Belarus, so long as it is imposed in accordance with the law and as an exceptional penalty for particularly serious crimes.34 The death penalty is applicable to 12 crimes in peacetime and an additional two crimes in times of war.35 Under the Criminal Code, the death penalty may be imposed for severe crimes, such as the deliberate deprivation of life with aggravating circumstances, but is not a mandatory sentence for any of these crimes.36 Belarusian law does not permit the execution of women and offenders under the age 32  Amnesty International, “Death sentences and executions 2011”, March 2012, <http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/ default/files/ai_global_dp_2011_stats_report-_act500012012en.pdf>. 33  Committee against Torture, “Concluding Observations of the Committee against Torture: Belarus”, 7 December 2011, <http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,CAT,,,4f1d51c82,0.html>. 34  Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, Article 24, 27 November 1996. 35  The death penalty is allowed for the following crimes: “unleashing or conducting a war of aggression”, Criminal Code of Belarus, Article 122, part 2), “murder of a representative of a foreign state or international organization, with the intention to provoke international tension or war” (Art. 124, part 2), “international terrorism” (Art. 126), “genocide” (Art. 127), “crimes against humanity” (Art. 128),“premeditated, aggravated murder” (Art. 139, part 2), “terrorism” (Art. 289, part 3), “terrorist acts” (Art. 359), “treason accompanied by murder” (Art. 356, part 2), “conspiracy to seize power” (Art. 357, part 3), “sabotage” (Art. 360, part 2), “murder of a police officer” (Art. 362), “use of weapons of mass destruction” (Art 134), and “murder of a person in violation of the laws and customs of war” (Art. 135, part 3). 36  Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, Article 59(1), 9 July 1999, amended on 17 July 2006, (Criminal Code). 9