On December 29, 1999, the People's Council decided...

On December 29, 1999, the People's Council decided to abolish the death sentence in the country. The same day, President Saparmurad Niyazov signed an appropriate constitutional law. Capital punishment as the gravest criminal punishment will no longer be applied. The longest prison term will be 25 years. Niyazov told the People's Council that persons sentenced for felonies will be kept at special places of confinement. On the same day, a constitutional law was passed on the annual pardoning of convicts on a specific Muslim holiday. Persons pardoned under the law will take an oath on the Koran never to commit crimes against society, the President said.