The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area though ODIHR was informed that the complaint was rejected and the decision, together with the reasons for rejection, were communicated to Kovalev and his lawyer.45 Executions According to statistics provided by the Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Belarus to the OSCE, five individuals were executed during the reporting period.46 Dates of execution were not supplied in the response and were unknown at the time of writing. Igor Myalik, who was sentenced by the Mogilev Oblast Court on 14 September 2010, was executed during the reporting period. Myalik, who was aged 41 at the time of sentencing, had been convicted of the murder of four individuals, committed during an armed robbery as part of a gang.47 The conviction and sentence were upheld by the Supreme Court on 11 February 2011. It is assumed that his execution took place sometime in January 2012; one human rights defender reported that Myalik ceased correspondence with his family in January 2012.48 Oleg Gryshkovtsov and Andrei Burdyko were sentenced to death by the Grodno Regional Court on 14 May 2010. Gryshkovtsov and Burdyko, who were aged 28 and 29, respectively, at the time of sentencing, had been found guilty of murdering three individuals during a robbery.49 In addition to murder, they were reportedly also convicted of armed assault, arson, the kidnapping of a minor, theft and robbery.50 The conviction and sentence were upheld by the Supreme Court on 17 September 2010. Reports suggest that the executions took place between 14 and 16 July last year.51 Vladislav Kovalev and Dmitriy Konovalov were also executed during the reporting period. Mr Kovalev’s mother received a letter from the Supreme Court dated 16 March 2012, stating that her son’s execution had been carried out. The executions were confirmed by state-owned media.52 45  Ibid. 46  Ibid. 47  Ibid. 48  “Belarus: no religious burials for executed prisoners”, Forum 18, 15 May 2012, <http://www.forum18.org/Archive. php?article_id=1700>. 49  Belarus Response, op. cit., note 28. 50  United Nations, “UN Committee says executions in Belarus violate international obligations”, 27 July 2011, (U.N. Belarus), <http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=39160&Cr=belarus&Cr1>. 51  Amnesty International, “Annual Report 2012: The state of the world’s human rights”, <http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/belarus/report-2012#section-13-3>. 52  Radio Free Europe, “Two Executed for 2011 Minsk Metro Bomb Attack”, 18 March 2012, <http://www.rferl.org/ content/minsk_bomber_said_executed/24518588.html >. 11