The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area–Background Paper 2018 death sentence handed down in 2016, it would be more appropriate to reclassify Kazakhstan as abolitionist for ordinary crimes only. This is a United Nations designation that refers to countries whose laws retain the death penalty only for exceptional crimes, such as crimes in times of war or those committed against the state, such as treason, terrorism or armed insurrection. 150 An indefinite moratorium on executions has remained in place in Kazakhstan since the issuance of a presidential decree in 2003, when Kazakhstan halted executions and introduced life imprisonment as an alternative to the death sentence.151 Nevertheless, in November 2016, a specialized district criminal court of Almaty city handed down a death sentence on Ruslan Kulekbayev, who was found guilty of a shooting spree that resulted in the death of eight police officers and two civilians. He was the only person known to be under sentence of death by the end of the reporting period.  150  “Capital punishment and implementation of the safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty”, Report of the Secretary-General, United Nations Economic and Social Council , 13 April 2015, para. 10, E/2015/49, < http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/DeathPenalty/E-2015-49.pdf>. 151  “The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area: Background Paper 2015”, OSCE/ODIHR, 24 September 2015, p. 14, <http://www.osce.org/odihr/184581?download=true>; and “The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area: Background Paper 2016” , OSCE/ODIHR, p. 38, op. cit., note 44. 35