80 The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area 4.9 UZBEKISTAN Relevant International Instruments 201 Ratification Status201 International Instruments ICCPR R Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR - CRC R Status: retentionist Legal Framework The death penalty is envisaged for two crimes:202 murder with aggravating circumstances and terrorism.203 Until August 1998, the death penalty had been envisaged for 13 crimes. The death penalty was abolished for five crimes in 1998, for four crimes in 2001, and for two more crimes in 2003. On 1 August 2005, President Karimov signed a decree on the abolition of the death penalty as of 1 January 2008.204 The decree envisages that, from 1 January 2008, the death penalty shall be abolished in Uzbekistan as a form of criminal punishment; punishment in the form of life, or long-term, imprisonment shall be introduced in its place.205 On 29 June 2006, the president issued a decree about the additional measures for legislative amendments to be introduced in connection with the envisaged abolition.206 Moratorium There is no moratorium on executions. The UN special rapporteur on the question 201 R = ratified, S = signed, a dash (-) indicates that the participating State has neither signed nor ratified the relevant instrument. 202 203 204 Article 51 of the Criminal Code, 22 September 1994, with further amendments as of 29 September 2004. Articles 97 (2) and 155 (3) of the Criminal Code. Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On abolition of the death penalty in the Republic of Uzbekistan”, 1 August 2005. 205 Uzbek and international human rights organizations welcomed the decree but expressed concerns about the fate of those who have been already sentenced and those who will be sentenced before 2008. They have called for an immediate moratorium on executions and for sentences to be commuted to life imprisonment. 206 Decree of the President of Uzbekistan “On additional measures to develop legislative and normative acts, which are required to be adopted in connection with the abolition of the death penalty in the Republic of Uzbekistan”, 29 June 2006.