A poll carried out by the Uzbek's Public Opinion Center...

A poll carried out by the Uzbek's Public Opinion Center revealed that residents of the country objected to imposing a moratorium on the death penalty or abolishing capital punishment. "The absolute majority of residents, 78.2%, think the death penalty is permissible or necessary for punishing grave crimes," a center source said. "The rate was 76.9% in 1999," he added. The center polled 1,200 people, 47.1% of them men and 52.9% women, in nine regions of Uzbekistan. "Citizens of the republic believe the death penalty is a fair punishment that criminals must face," said the center's sociologists. Respondents thought that "fear for one's own life was the only thing that could stop a criminal." In general, all population groups supported the death penalty. "Some 56.2% of the respondents objected to a moratorium on the death penalty as, they said, it could increase the crime rate.