The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area 61 2006 until its final abolition.127 The government was instructed to prepare draft legislation with the objective of the ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, abolition of the death penalty and its replacement by life imprisonment or a lengthy term of imprisonment, including for persons covered by the moratorium. The Decree also tasks the government to take measures to improve prison conditions for those sentenced to death. The government treats information on the number and identity of individuals subject to the moratorium as confidential. Method of execution Shooting128 Statistics Death sentences According to official statistics provided by the Ministry of Justice, six individuals were sentenced to death during the period from 30 June 2005 to 30 June 2006. No information on their identities was provided. All convictions are final, i.e., all appeals stages have been exhausted. All individuals were sentenced for murder. Executions None International Safeguards Pregnant women and minors Women and individuals who were below the age of 18 at the time of the crime cannot be sentenced to death.129 Fair-trial guarantees On 30 December 2005, after his visit to Kyrgyzstan, the special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers welcomed reforms related to the administration of the justice sector in Kyrgyzstan, but expressed concerns in a number of areas. In particular, he noted that the prosecutor played a dominant, including a supervisory, role in the administration of justice and exerted a disproportionate amount of influence 127 Presidential Decree No. 667 “On prolongation of the term of the moratorium on execution of the death penalty in the Kyrgyz Republic”, 29 December 2005. 128 Article 155 (2) of the Criminal Executive Code, 13 December 1999. This article also provides that executions should not be carried out in public. 129 Article 50 (2) of the Criminal Code.