The BBC's Ebow Godwin in the capital, Lome, says Kpatcha Gnassingbe did not seem worried by the sentence.

BBC: Faure Gnassingbe taking the oath of office in 2010

Komisarjevsky received his death sentence three months before the state repealed capital punishment in future cases.

CNN: Executions, death sentences remain steady over past year

But they were soon overshadowed by thousands of protesters who flooded a major intersection in the capital, Dhaka, upset by what they said was a lenient sentence of life in prison, which actually means just 14 years in Bangladesh.

NPR: Bangladeshis Demand Death For War Crimes Convict

Germany allowed the extradition after receiving assurances the pair would be tried in a civilian court and not face a capital sentence if found guilty.

ECONOMIST: Bombs explode

Mr Straw's most recent intervention was on 30 January when he contacted the chairman of the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole to urge them to commute the death sentence to a prison term and reiterate Britain's opposition to capital punishment.

BBC: Time running out for death row Briton

That is not a sentence I have written before and it indicates the remarkable changes that have happened in the capital with regards to cycling.

BBC: How cycle safety has gone up the election agenda in London