Bakhrom Sadirov, who had been found guilty of the February 1997 hostage-taking of several United Nations observers, was allegedly executed in January 199963. A number of other trials, several of them with a political background, have resulted in death sentences, including the case of three United Tajik Opposition (UTO) members who were sentenced to death in March 1999 for their alleged involvement in the killing of four United Nations employees in July 1998, and the trial against two prominent opposition figures, former high officials of Khalton province Sherali Mirzoyev and Kosym Babayev, who were found guilty in June 1999 of having participated in the 1997 coup attempt led by Colonel Makhmud Khudoberdiyev. Three leaders of an armed group that was operating in Kurgan-Tyube during another anti-Government mutiny led by Colonel Khudoberdiyev in November 1998 were sentenced to death in December 1999 for murder, terrorism, weapons contraband and high treason64. Two recent cases received particular attention from domestic and international observers, with allegations of serious violations of fair trial principles and illtreatment during detention. The first one was in connection with the attempted assassination of the Mayor of Dushanbe, Mr. Makhmadsaid Ubaydullayev, on 16 February 2000, which resulted in a death sentenced being imposed on Dovud and Sherali Nazriev in May 2001. The second case concerns two students at the Islamic University, Mustafo Boymurodov and Sadriddin Fahruddinov, who were charged with committing a terrorist act in the building of the Korean missionary center “SONMIN”65. Political trials are mostly closed to the public, and are often held not in courts, but in the prisons where the defendants are held. In general, capital punishment very often is applied in an arbitrary way by Tajik courts, with serious fair trial violations being reported by international observers66. A case that raised particular concern among international observers was that of Dilfuza Numonova, a 21-year-old woman who was accused of murdering a man who had raped her. According to the OSCE Mission to Tajikistan, which observed the trial, evidence presented by prosecutors against the defendant was poor. Furthermore, the defendant’s lawyer was denied access to her and allegations of ill-treatment during the pre-trial period were also reported. She was also allegedly forced to undergo abortion while in detention, thus allowing her to be sentenced to death under Tajik law. Recently, the President commuted the sentence to 15 years imprisonment67. 4.14 Turkey According to the Turkish statute books, capital punishment may be imposed for a broad range of crimes. The Penal Code provides for the death penalty for nine offences, namely crimes against the territorial integrity of the State, collaboration with a State at war with Turkey, espionage, attempts to overthrow the existing constitutional system by force, armed rebellion against the Government, preventing the cabinet from performing its functions, inciting the people to revolt and kill one another, attempting to assassinate the President, and aggravated homicide. Other offences that carry the death penalty are included in the Military Criminal Code, the 16