he new Constitution of Uzbekistan, approved in a referendum on 30 April, also provides for the abolition of the death penalty. A historic turning point, which makes us think back to the tenacious battle against capital punishment by Tamara Chikunova, who died two years ago.
After her son Dmitry was executed on 10 July 2000 for a crime he never committed, Tamara Chikunova campaigned tirelessly for a moratorium and the abolition of the death penalty in Uzbekistan. She dreamed this extremely unjust punishment would be abolished worldwide. The abolition of the death penalty in Uzbekistan is good news in a time marked by too many wars and violence.
