Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev was reported...

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev was reported as advocating the gradual abolition of the death penalty, urging that his position be explained to the public. Speaking at a meeting with law-enforcement agencies on combating crime, held in the capital Astana, President Nazarbayev said: "We have discussed the possibility of the gradual abolition of the death penalty. However, our society believes that it is premature to abolish the death penalty for terrorists and murderers. We should carefully listen to these views and continue to explain our position [to the public] on this issue."