The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area February 2011,34 Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland expressed his disappointment and concern regarding the Court’s decision. Jagland said that “talk is not enough to pave the way to a moratorium” and that there is “a need for a genuine political will to turn words into action”.35 The death sentences of Oleg Gryshkovtsov and Andrei Burdyko, handed down on 14 May 2010 by the Grodno Regional Court, were confirmed by the Supreme Court of Belarus on 17 September 2010, after cassation was denied.36 Gryshkovtsov and Burdyko, who were 29 and 28 years of age, respectively, when sentenced, were found guilty of the murder of three people and the kidnapping of a minor during a robbery and arson attack, carried out in 2009.37 In their cassation appeals against the death sentences, the two men argued that investigators had violated procedural regulations and the International Covenant on Civic and Political Rights, using illegal methods to obtain confessions. On 25 February 2011, President Alexander Lukashenko rejected requests for clemency from the two men.38 Executions No executions were carried out during the reporting period.39 The executions of Oleg Gryshkovtsov and Andrei Burdyko, which led to expressions of concern from the international community, including from the United Nations Human Rights Committee, were carried out after the reporting period for this Background Paper, reportedly between 13 and 19 July 2011.40 34  Response to the ODIHR questionnaire on the death penalty from the Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Belarus to the OSCE, op. cit., note 31. 35  “����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Jagland Calls Belarus to Adopt an Immediate Moratorium on Executions”, Office for a Democratic Belarus, 16 February 2011, <http://democraticbelarus.eu/node/11542>. 36  Ibid. 37  “Belarus upholds death Penalty for two men”, Office for a Democratic Belarus, 20 September 2010, ­<http:// democraticbelarus.eu/node/9799>. 38  “Belarus: President Lukashenko denies clemency to two death row inmates”, BBC, 25 February 2011, <http:// www.handsoffcain.info/archivio_news/201102.php?iddocumento=15302565&mover=0>. 39  Response to the ODIHR questionnaire on the death penalty from the Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Belarus to the OSCE, op. cit., note 31. 40  “Britain called on Belarus to establish a moratorium on death penalty”, World News – Russian opinion, 1 August 2011, <http://mysouth.su/2011/08/britain-called-on-belarus-to-establish-a-moratorium-on-death-penalty/>. 9