The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area On 11 May 2007, the justice minister stated publicly that no executions had taken place in Uzbekistan since 2005.129 Method of execution Shooting130 Statistics Death sentences Official statistics were not provided.131 Executions Official statistics were not provided. International Safeguards Women and minors Women and individuals who were below the age of 18 at the time of the crime cannot be sentenced to death.132 Fair-trial guarantees In its concluding observations on the second periodic report submitted by Uzbekistan, the UN Human Rights Committee expressed its concern about the lack of information on the number of prisoners sentenced to death, grounds for conviction, and the number of executions. The Committee has urged Uzbekistan to “publish such information periodically and make it accessible to the public”.133 The UN special rapporteur on torture has described the use of torture in Uzbekistan as systematic. He has also reported a lack of respect for the principle of presumption of innocence, a lack of independence of the judiciary, and discretionary powers of the prosecutor with respect to access to detainees by legal counsel and 129  Hands Off Cain, “Uzbekistan”, http://www.handsoffcain.info/bancadati/schedastato.php?idstato=9 000424&idcontinente=23. 130  Article 51 of the Criminal Code. Article 140 of the Criminal Execution Code of 1 April 1995 provides that executions shall not be carried out in public. 131  According to information received from non-governmental organizations, at least seven individuals were sentenced to death during the period from 30 June 2006 to 30 June 2007. 132  Article 51 of the Criminal Code. This article also stipulates that men over the age of 60 at the time of sentencing cannot be sentenced to death. 133  Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee: Uzbekistan, U.N. Doc. CCPR/CO/83/ UZB, 26 April 2005, para. 7. 41