DUSHANBE, March 29, 2011, — According to the findings of survey conducted by the Nota Bene public association, the majority of Tajikistan’s population is against the death penalty.
“More than 2,000 people from all regions of the country have been surveyed and according to the survey findings, 61.18 percent of those surveyed are for abolition of capital punishment in the country,” the survey team head Sergey Romanov said.
According to Ms. Nigina Bahriyeva, chairperson of the Nota Bene public association, some Tajik officials claim that the population is not yet ready for the full abolition of the death penalty. “Our survey, however, shows that this statement is erroneous,” said she. “Officials say the death penalty is provided for by the Constitution and it may be abolished only through making amendments to the Constitution.”
According to the survey, practically all employees of prosecutor’s offices and prosecutors spoke for preservation of the death penalty – 88 percent. 65 percent of surveyed civil servants and 69 percent of surveyed police officers also spoke for preservation of the death penalty.
In the meantime, employees of courts speak for abolition of the death penalty – 93 percent.
Tajikistan introduced moratorium on carrying out the death penalty in 2004. The country’s legislation reduced the scope of its death penalty by limiting the number of crimes punishable by death from 15 to five and revoking its use against women and minors.
Speaking at the annual OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw on September 30, 2009, the Tajik delegation stated the clear political will to fully abolish capital punishment in the future. This commitment was reinforced again in April 2010, when President Emomali Rahmon established a working group with the aim of analyzing the social and legal aspects of abolishing the death penalty in Tajikistan. Several NGOs have been supporting the government’s intentions in this area through the development of projects aimed at raising awareness of the issue and engaging in a dialogue on abolishing the death penalty and the general question of the right to life.
