Kazakhs consider expanding use of death penalty

    Kazakhstan is considering increasing the number of crimes eligible for the death penalty, Tengri News reported May 30, citing First Deputy Prosecutor General Iogan Merkel. Merkel described the planned legal reform to the senate.
    If enacted, the plan would make war crimes, violations of international humanitarian norms during armed conflicts, and international terrorism punishable by death, he said, adding that Kazakhstan needed to enact the plan to comply with its obligations as a signatory to the Geneva Conventions.
    Kazakhstan already has a number of capital crimes on its books, including genocide, conduct of a war of aggression and use of weapons of mass destruction, Fergana News reported. However, it introduced a moratorium on executions in December 2003. The senate already has passed the first reading of the new criminal code, according to Fergana News.
    Bills customarily require three readings before reaching the president for a final decision, according to Central Asia Online.