Armenia's 131-seat national assembly on September 9,...

Armenia's 131-seat national assembly on September 9, 2003 voted to unconditionally abolish the death penalty in peacetime. The ratification of Protocol No. 6 to the European convention on human rights, means that the exceptions stipulated by the Law on Application of the Criminal Code, which stipulated the death penalty in three cases, including terrorism, are no longer in effect. The sixth protocol abolishes capital punishment except in times of war or in imminence of war. The country had come under pressure from the Council of Europe, to which it had made a commitment to abolition on accession in January 2001. The head of the legislative commission, Rafik Petrosian, warned deputies that they must pass the motion or Armenia ran the risk "leaving the European family". The Council had threatened to exclude the Armenian delegation if Yerevan did not ratify the treaty.In April, Armenia's national assembly had approved a new criminal code which replaced the death penalty with life imprisonment in the former Soviet republic. But an amendment was introduced under which those convicted of terrorist acts, particularly serious crimes or the rape of minors would remain on the death row if the crimes had been committed prior to the new criminal code. The Council of Europe had given Armenia until June to pass legislation abolishing capital punishment without exception - in theory a formality as there has been a moratorium on executions for over 10 years. But in Armenia, the debate over abolition was overshadowed by the events of October 27, 1999, when gunmen stormed parliament and murdered a popular prime minister, the chamber's speaker and six other officials. Six people, including the gunmen's alleged ringleader Nairi Unanian, have been on trial for the attack since February 2001.