The death penalty in Kyrgyzstan could be abolished...

The death penalty in Kyrgyzstan could be abolished as early as 2006, Kyrgyz Justice Minister Kurmanbek Osmonov said. This move is part of a Kyrgyz human rights program, Osmonov told a briefing. "At the end of last year, Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev, following the principles of humanity, signed the fifth decree to extend the moratorium on the death penalty in the republic," Osmonov said. "In the earlier years, thirty articles of the Criminal Code entailed the death penalty. Under the current Criminal Code, the death penalty can only be used based on six articles for extremely serious crimes," he said.