death_penalty_new.qxd 02-08-27 12:57 Page 52 THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE OSCE AREA When the European Union granted Turkey candidate status in December 1999, the abolition of the death penalty and the ratification of Protocol No. 6 to the ECHR were among the political criteria for accession195. During the reporting period covered by this paper, neither of these criteria had been satisfied196. Since then, there have been some significant developments. On 3 August 2002, a 14-point reform package, including the abolition of the death penalty for all crimes other than those committed in times of war or imminent threat of war was passed by the Parliament. The package was ratified by the President and was published in the Official Gazette on 9 August 2002. Moratorium: A de facto moratorium on executions has been in place since 1984. Death sentences can only be carried out if they are approved by Parliament197. The Judicial Committee of the Parliament de facto prevents executions by not reviewing cases or forwarding them to the General Assembly of the Parliament for approval. As of October 2001, 117 cases were pending at the Judicial Committee of the Parliament198 . Method of execution: Hanging199. STATISTICS Number of death sentences passed: According to official statistics200, 56 persons have been sentenced to death in 20 cases since 1 January 2000201. Number of executions: None. 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 These criteria are contained in the Accession Partnership adopted on 8 March 2001. The obligation to abolish the death penalty and ratify Protocol No. 6 is listed as a medium-term criteria. The short-term criteria require Turkey to maintain the de facto moratorium on the death penalty. As stated in the introduction, the reporting period covered by this paper is from 30 June 2001 to 30 June 2002. Article 87 of the Constitution. ‘Constitutional Amendments: Still a long way to go’, AI EUR 44/007/2002, Amnesty International, London. p.9. Article 2(4) of the Law on the Execution of Penalties, Law no.647, 1965. Official statistics provided by the Delegation of Turkey to the OSCE. Of these, 13 persons were convicted of aggravated murder (Article 450), five were convicted of separatist acts (Article 125) and 38 were convicted of attempt to overthrow the existing constitutional system by force (Article 146). According to Amnesty International, at least 81 death sentences were passed in 2000 and at least 24 death sentences were passed in 2001. See ‘Constitutional Amendments: Still a long way to go’, AI EUR 44/007/200, Amnesty International, London. 52