The Hands Off Cain delegation comprised by MEP Benedetto...

The Hands Off Cain delegation comprised by MEP Benedetto Della Vedova, regional parliamentary Bruno Mellano, HOC board member Antonio Stango and Rosanna Degiovanni, finished the first part of their Central Asian mission, to gather support in favour of a UN moratorium resolution on capital executions, by holding a press conference at the Italian embassy in Almaty.
The Press Conference saw the participation of European Commission representative Alessandro Liamine, Zemish Tuemagaletova from the Kazakh Human Rights Organisation, and OSCE representative Fabrizio Vielmini.
The Hands Off Cain delegation met at the new Kazakh capital Astana, Bolat Baykadamov, Ombudsman Commissioner for Human Rights, Roustman Kaliyev, head of the European and American departments at the Foreign Ministry and Vice Minister of Justice Bekbosynov.
All meetings showed favourable signs towards the gradual abolition of the death penalty, both in terms of EU-Kazakh relations and in order to help the development of a democratic society.
The authorities noted that there was intense political debate in the country to commute the death penalty into life imprisonment and that there had been a reduction of crimes punishable by death.
The Public Fund "Journalists in Danger" and the Kazakh International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law both participated at the pro-moratorium event.
The most important aspect of the meetings was the assurance that the government of Kazakhstan would not vote against a moratorium request at the UN General Assembly in 2003.
A further sign of collaboration and openness came from the Vice Minister of Justice who obtained data relative to executions in the country, at Hands Off Cain's request.
The Italian Ambassador Diego Lorenzo Longo said he would further support Hands Off Cain's initiative by financing a series of advertisements which will be shown on all main television channels in the country.