TAJIKISTAN. UPPER HOUSE ENDORSES DEATH PENALTY MORATORIUM

President Imomali Rahmonov had announced the introduction of a moratorium on the death penalty in his annual address to parliament on 30 April 2004, and the lower house of the Tajik parliament had approved the draft law on the introduction of a moratorium on the death penalty on 2 June 2004.
The Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and Hands Off Cain had called on the Tajik authorities to establish a moratorium with a view to the abolition of the death penalty.
“This move is further proof that a pragmatic – rather than a fundamentalist – approach to death penalty abolition works,” HOC General Secretary Sergio D’Elia said. “Tajikistan’s decision increases the possibility of a resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium being approved by the UN General Assembly. This is a battle that can be won and only an EU that lacks the resolve to fight, an EU abolitionist only in words and in fact contrary to the only reasonable way to achieve worldwide abolition - the UN moratorium – can decide to lose, by not fighting.”
In June 2003 Tajikistan´s lower Parliament abolished the death penalty for women. The number of crimes eligible for the death penalty were also reduced from 15 to five, these included: premeditated murder of two or more people, rape, terrorist acts, genocide, and crimes involving chemical, nuclear or biological weapons.
In 2003, at least 34 people were put to death in Tajikistan. Only 2 executions were reported on the media and the number is probably higher.
With Tajikistan’s move towards a moratorium, only one of the five former Soviet Republics in Central Asia – Uzbekistan – continues to practice the death penalty. Three- Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan – are observing moratoriums, whilst Turkmenistan abolished the death penalty completely in December 2000.