While death sentences are still handed down regularly by Armenian courts, there is a de facto moratorium on executions in place, based on the President's constitutional authority to exercise pardon. According to official information, no executions have been carried out since 1991. In 1999, three people were sentenced to death by Armenian courts. Thirty-one prisoners are currently on death row25. 4.3 Azerbaijan On 10 February 1998, the Parliament of Azerbaijan adopted a bill abolishing the death penalty for peacetime offences, following an initiative by President Aliyev. One death sentence was passed before the relevant law came into force on 21 February 1998, bringing the total number of persons on death row to 128. However, all death sentences were commuted to long-term imprisonment after the decision to abolish capital punishment26. Nagorno-Karabakh The death penalty remains in force in the internationally unrecognized separatist enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, and courts reportedly hand down death sentences. There are, however, no indications that executions are carried out27. 4.4 Belarus Belarus is the only European country in which the death penalty is in active use. The Criminal Code of Belarus provides for the death penalty for a wide range of crimes, namely treason, plotting to seize power, terrorism, sabotage, bombings that threaten public safety, undermining the work of a prison, premeditated murder, and aggravated rape. In the referendum of 1996, which was not recognized by the international community due to serious irregularities, the majority of the voters voiced support for the continued use of the death penalty28. In 1998, 47 death sentences were passed by Belarusian courts, and 40 people were executed. According to General Procurator Oleg Bozhelko, 14 death sentences Create PDF in your applications with the Pdfcrowd HTML to PDF API PDFCROWD