Two death row inmates in Belarus whose cases were being reviewed by the U.N. Human Rights Committee have been executed for murder, despite the committee's request to wait for results of the review.

The U.N. Human Rights Committee says the executions in Belarus were a grave breach of the country's international obligations.

The men, identified as Oleg Grishovtsov and Andrei Burdyko of Grodno, were sentenced to death for the 2009 killings of three people. Grishovtsov and Burdyko had alleged they were tortured during pre-trial investigations and did not receive a fair trial. The time and place of the executions was not announced.

This is the second time in less than two years that individuals whose cases were pending before the Human Rights Committee have been executed in Belarus. Two men were sentenced to death and executed in March of last year for crimes including murder.