Article 24 of the constitution reads that

The death penalty in Belarus is envisaged for 14 crimes, ranging from murder to terrorism, crimes against humanity and a number of military crimes. Article 24 of the Constitution reads that “the death penalty can be applied as an exceptional measure of punishment for grave crimes in accordance with the law and only under court sentences until it is abolished.”
Information on the death penalty is still considered a State secret. Prisoners are told of their impending execution only moments before it is carried out. Typically, the condemned are shot in the back of the head. Bodies are buried in unmarked graves that are kept secret.
In a 1996 referendum, which was not recognized by the international community due to serious irregularities, the majority of voters (80.44%) voiced their support for the continued use of the death penalty. Partly due to the country’s stance on the death penalty, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) suspended Belarus’ special guest status in January 1997. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has also been sharply criticized in the West for his authoritarian rule.
The Belarusian authorities did not take any decisive measures aimed at the abolition of the death penalty or a moratorium. The discussion on this issue was mainly restricted to discussion of the perspective of Belarus joining the Council of Europe and the abolition of death penalty as one of conditions for this political step.
On 25 January 2012, the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Belarus, Pyotr Miklashevich, said the Court may clarify its position on the death penalty if an appropriate appeal from authorized bodies is received. “The position of the Constitutional Court can be revised if authorized bodies appeal to court in a prescribed legal procedure for clarification of the decision [taken in 2004] or for making a new decision on the issue,” the chair of the Constitutional Court noted. Miklashevich reminded two implications can be made from the ruling by the Constitutional Court taken in March 2004. “The first one that the Criminal Code should be amended, because the norms of the code regarding the death penalty did not mention the temporary character of the capital punishment as provided for by the Constitution. The Criminal Code has been amended in this way,” the court chair explained. The second position of the court was that “Lukashenko or the Parliament can take a decision on imposing a moratorium on the death penalty in accordance with the established procedure.” Miklashevich marked that “Under the Constitution, a number of articles of the Constitution, including article 24 regulating the use of the death penalty, can be amended only by a referendum.”
On 23 January 2013, the question of abolishing the death penalty in Belarus “remains open,” Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus Pyotr Miklashevich told a news conference in Minsk. He added that the death penalty is a temporary and exceptional measure, and the Constitutional Court had earlier explained that a moratorium on the death penalty could be introduced by a decision of the President and Parliament.
By unofficial estimates, up to 400 people were executed since 1991. According to official data, more than 160 death penalties have been carried from 1997 to 2008. Only one condemned person is known to have been pardoned by Alexander Lukashenko’s decree.
In 2012, there were at least 3 executions.
In 2011, two men were executed for murder and another two murderers were executed in 2010. In 2009, there were no executions, while four people were executed in 2008 and 1 in 2007.
On 19 March 2012, the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by State parties, voiced grave concern over the execution of Kovalyov whose case was under its consideration. Kovalyov had petitioned the Committee claiming that his trial was unfair and that he had been forced to confess guilt. The Committee had asked the Belarus authorities to stay the execution pending its consideration of the case. “The position of the Human Rights Committee is clear – Belarus has committed a grave breach of its legal obligations by executing Mr. Kovalyov,” said the Committee’s chair, Zonke Zanele Majodina. “Furthermore, this is not the first time – in 2010 and 2011 it also executed persons whose cases were before the Committee. We deplore these flagrant violations of the human rights treaty obligations of Belarus,” she said.
On 18 December 2014, as in previous years, Belarus abstained from the Resolution on a Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty at the UN General Assembly.