Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the National...

Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights Saidamir Zuhurov said in an interview with Asia-Plus that work was under way aimed at reducing the application of capital punishment in Tajikistan, but was quoted as saying that "our society is not yet ready" in regards to abolishment. He said that the Tajik Criminal Code's many articles which envisaged capital punishment had lately been reduced or reviewed. "There were 36 such articles only a few years ago, but now there are 14. It is great success for a country that emerged from the civil war [of 1992-97] just a few years ago," Zuhurov said.