Newsroom
Round table urges Tajikistan to restrict death penalty
DUSHANBE 23 August 2001
DUSHANBE, 23 August 2001 (OSCE) - A round table organized in collaboration with the OSCE Mission to Tajikistan has agreed on a set of recommendations to be put to the Government, appealing to it to consider a moratorium and other limitations on the use of the death penalty in the Republic of Tajikistan.
The recommendations were the result of two days of open and constructive discussions, held on 22 and 23 August, on the theme of 'Problems of the death penalty in the Republic of Tajikistan'. The talks were co-organized by the League of Women Lawyers of Tajikistan, a local non-governmental organization, and the Tajik Branch of the Open Society Institute of the Soros Foundation.
The round table drew more than 40 participants, including representatives from the Presidential Executive Apparatus, the Prosecutor General's Office, courts of all levels, and the mass media.
Addressing the round table, the OSCE Mission noted that the Organization puts considerable emphasis on the abolition of capital punishment in all OSCE participating States. In this regard, the Mission underlined the importance of the Resolution on Abolition of the Death Penalty, adopted in July this year at the 10th session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Paris. This calls upon the OSCE participating States applying the death penalty to introduce an immediate moratorium on executions, and to abolish the death penalty without delay.
The Mission also noted some positive steps undertaken by the Tajik Government in order to limit the sphere of application of the death penalty. One of these was the adoption of a new Criminal Procedure Code, which considerably reduces the range of crimes for which a death sentence can be imposed.
The recommendations on which the participants of the round table agreed to be submitted to the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, stipulate, inter alia:
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For more information or media inquires please contact: Oleg Semenenko, Human Dimension Officer, tel.: +(992-372) 24 58 79, 21 40 63, sat. Tel.: + 873 682 322 495 or +873 682 322 012, e-mail: oleg@osce.tojikiston.com.
The recommendations were the result of two days of open and constructive discussions, held on 22 and 23 August, on the theme of 'Problems of the death penalty in the Republic of Tajikistan'. The talks were co-organized by the League of Women Lawyers of Tajikistan, a local non-governmental organization, and the Tajik Branch of the Open Society Institute of the Soros Foundation.
The round table drew more than 40 participants, including representatives from the Presidential Executive Apparatus, the Prosecutor General's Office, courts of all levels, and the mass media.
Addressing the round table, the OSCE Mission noted that the Organization puts considerable emphasis on the abolition of capital punishment in all OSCE participating States. In this regard, the Mission underlined the importance of the Resolution on Abolition of the Death Penalty, adopted in July this year at the 10th session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Paris. This calls upon the OSCE participating States applying the death penalty to introduce an immediate moratorium on executions, and to abolish the death penalty without delay.
The Mission also noted some positive steps undertaken by the Tajik Government in order to limit the sphere of application of the death penalty. One of these was the adoption of a new Criminal Procedure Code, which considerably reduces the range of crimes for which a death sentence can be imposed.
The recommendations on which the participants of the round table agreed to be submitted to the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, stipulate, inter alia:
- to consider the possibility of introducing a moratorium on executions as soon as possible;
- to review current criminal legislation in order to further reduce the number of crimes which call for the death penalty;
- to include representatives of public organizations and lawyers on the Presidential Commission on Pardons;
- to abolish capital punishment with respect to women, persons over 65 and disabled persons;
- to abolish the Institute of Additional Investigation;
- to facilitate a wide discussion of death penalty issues in Tajik society and in the mass media.
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For more information or media inquires please contact: Oleg Semenenko, Human Dimension Officer, tel.: +(992-372) 24 58 79, 21 40 63, sat. Tel.: + 873 682 322 495 or +873 682 322 012, e-mail: oleg@osce.tojikiston.com.