Azerbaijan has observed a moratorium on executions...

Azerbaijan has observed a moratorium on executions since 1993, motivated by the desire to join the Council of Europe which has coaxed prospective members to eliminate the death penalty. Following an initiative by President Haydar Aliyev in January 1998, the Parliament decided to abolish the death penalty on February 10, 1998. One hundred and twenty-eight death row inmates had their sentences commuted. The last execution took place in 1992.