Seven people were sentenced to death in Belarus in...

Seven people were sentenced to death in Belarus in 2001, and 11 others got life in prison, Valyantsin Sukala, chairman of the Supreme Court of Belarus, told reporters.
A total of five Belarusians are awaiting execution, Sukala said, stressing, however, that the country only applies the death penalty to murderers of two or more people, and "gradually, step by step," is reducing the number of such sentences (seven death sentences were passed in 2000 as compared to 13 three years ago).
Sukala confessed that he himself was against the death penalty.
"But it is my private opinion," he said. "It has no effect on my actions, because, in fact, I am the one who signs every verdict on every pardon application, and basically, I am the one who makes the final decision."