The first deputy chairman of the Tajik Supreme Court,...

The first deputy chairman of the Tajik Supreme Court, Mahmadali Vatanov declared that the number of death sentences passed in the country in 2002 had decreased compared with previous years. "Capital punishment was given to those who committed 'very grave crimes such as murder and who pose a danger to society'. I point out that no death sentence was passed on drug dealers last year," Vatanov said. Vatanov explained that capital punishment may be used against organisers and leaders of criminal groups and gangs of armed bandits. "The country's legislation does not provide for giving capital punishment to a person who did not commit serious crimes while being a member of a bandit formation or a criminal group," he added. Asked by reporters about the possibility of declaring a moratorium on capital punishment in Tajikistan, Vatanov said: "A careful approach should be made to this issue, taking into account not only the opinions of other states that consider the abolition of the death penalty as a necessary element of democratic society, but also the situation in Tajikistan. In history, many countries repeatedly abolished and reinstated the death penalty. This form of punishment is still applied in 38 states of the USA and in Japan, but no one says that these states are undemocratic or uncivilized."