The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area–Background Paper 2017 of 18 and below the age of 65 at the time of the sentencing can be sentenced to death.66 Siarhei Vostrykau, 33 years old, was convicted by the Gomel Regional Court on 19 May 2016 for two separate cases of rape and murder committed in July 2014 and in July 2015, respectively. Vostrykau was the third person to be sentenced to death in 2016 and the first within the reporting period in Belarus. The verdict entered into force on 4 October 2016.67 The second death sentence was handed down by the Regional Court in Mazyr (south-eastern Belarus), to Kiryl Kazachok, convicted for murdering his two children. The verdict was announced on 28 December 2016, during a trial which was reportedly held behind closed doors.68 The verdict entered into force on 10 January 2017. According to public information, Kazachok’s appeal hearing at the Supreme Court of Belarus was scheduled for 21 March 2017. However, he has refused to use his right to appeal the sentence or request clemency. He was allegedly transferred to the pre-trial detention centre (SIZO) #1 in Minsk where death sentences are carried out. At the time of the drafting of this report he was at risk of imminent execution.69 On 17 March 2017, the third death sentence within the reporting period was handed down. Aliaksei Mikhalenia, a 32-year-old resident of Naroŭlia, has been found guilty of murdering two people and of committing the crime with special cruelty (para. 1, 6, 16, Part 2, Art. 139 of the Criminal Code of Belarus).70 In its response to the ODIHR 2017 questionnaire, Belarus confirmed that the verdict has entered into force on 30 June 2017 after the Supreme Court rejected his appeal and upheld the sentence. It is reported that Mikhalenia has been transferred to the pre-trial detention centre (SIZO) #1 in Minsk where death sentences are carried out.71 66  Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, arts. 59.2(2). 67  “Belarus issues third death sentence in 2016: Siarhei Vostrykau”, Amnesty International, 3 June 2016, <https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur49/4198/2016/en/>. According to public sources, Vostrykau has been executed on 5 May 2017; see e.g. Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, “Condemning recent execution in Belarus, OSCE/ODIHR Director repeats call for immediate moratorium on death penalty”, 8 May 2017 , <http://www.osce.org/odihr/315931>; “Execution in Belarus of Siarhei Vostrykau”, European Union External Action (EEAS), 6 May 2017, <https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage_en/25677/ Execution%20in%20Belarus%20of%20Siarhei%20Vostrykau>; see also “EU Local Statement on the Execution of Siarhei Vostrykau in Belarus”, EEAS, 10 May 2017, <https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/25888/eu-local-statement-execution-siarhei-vostrykau-belarus_en; http://www.assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/ News/News-View-EN.asp?newsid=6637&lang=2&cat=9>. 68  “Man in Mazyr sentenced to death”, VIASNA, 28 December 2016, <http://spring96.org/en/news/85703>. 69  “Belarus: Kiryl Kazachok at risk of imminent execution”, Amnesty International, 3 March 2017, <https:// www.amnesty.org/.../EUR4958212017ENGLISH.pdf>. Death Penalty News (4 March 2017) at https://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.com/2017/03/belarus-kiryl-kazachok-at-risk-of.html 70  “Man sentenced to death in Naroŭlia”, VIASNA, 20 March 2017, <http://spring96.org/en/news/86286>. 71  “Aliaksei Mikhalenia risque d’etre execute sous peu”, Amnesty International, 18 July 2017, <https://www.amnesty.be/je-veux-agir/agir-en-ligne/ecrire-des-lettres/article/aliaksei-mikhalenia-risque-d-etre-execute-sous-peu?lang=fr>. 25