President Kurmanbek Bakiev today signed into law changes to the Criminal Code that abolish capital punishment.
The maximum penalty is now life imprisonment.
Kyrgyz authorities had extended a moratorium on executions each year since 1998.
Turkmenistan abolished the death penalty outright in 1999, while a moratorium on executions is in place in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
RFE/RL Central Asia Report
RFE/RL Central Asia Report
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