Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan - In the central Asian Republic of Kyrgystan President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has abolished the death penalty, the Interfax news agency reported Wednesday. According to reports, Bakiyev signed a law for the humanization of the criminal law.
The amendment was part of wider reforms of the criminal law, which also included a reduction of terms of imprisonment, alternatives to imprisonment, amnesty and pardons.
Kyrgyzstan issued death sentences until 1997, according to the human rights organization Amnesty International.
The move comes only a week after the European Union declared it wanted to intensify its fight against the death penalty worldwide.
According to the EU, last year at least 3,851 people were sentenced to death in 55 countries worldwide.
