Human rights organisation Amnesty International has strongly criticised Belarus for executing two men convicted of crimes including murder. Amnesty says the men did not receive a fair trial and were forced to confess.

President Alexander Lukashenko refused to grant an appeal for clemency.

Belarus is the only European country where the death sentence is carried out. It does not issue figures on the number of executions.

In December the authorities in Minsk rejected a request by the Council of Europe to establish a moratorium on capital punishment as a condition for closer relations with the rest of Europe.