Belarus's President Refuses Clemency For Bombers On Death Row

Dzmitry Kanavalau (left) and Uladzislau Kavalyou sit in a cage before court hearings in Minsk in September 2011.

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has refused to grant clemency to two men sentenced to death in connection to a Minsk subway bombing that killed 15 people in April 2011.

State television quoted Lukashenka's press office as saying the president "has decided not to grant clemency" to Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzislau Kavalyou.

It was unclear when the two are scheduled to be executed.

The quick investigation and lack of motives presented during the trial of the two 25-year-old factory workers has sparked accusations that the bombing was a plot by security services to justify a crackdown against Lukashenka's political foes.

Lukashenka, who was reelected in a controversial December 2010 vote, has said that the blast was an attempt to destabilize the country by unknown enemies of the state.

Rights organizations have urged Belarus not to carry out the execution.

With AFP and Reuters reporting