Capital punishment in Turkmenistan was originally allowed under Article 20 of the 1992 Constitution, where it was described as "an exceptional punishment for the heaviest of crimes". In December 1999, a presidential decree abolished capital punishment "forever".
In the 2003 Constitution, Article 20 reads: "The death penalty in Turkmenistan is completely abolished and banned forever by the first President of Turkmenistan Great Saparmurat Türkmenbaşy".
Turkmenistan is a member of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. The death penalty was replaced with life imprisonment.
References
- 1992 Constitution of Turkmenistan Archived 2015-04-14 at the Wayback Machine, unofficial English translation, University of Texas at Arlington, URL accessed 27 December 2006
- Abolition of capital punishment in Turkmenistan Archived 2016-11-26 at the Wayback Machine, Presidential Decree 3003, 28 December 1999 (in Russian)
- "Госсимволика - «Туркменистан: золотой век»". www.turkmenistan.gov.tm. Archived from the original on 20 October 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- Ratification of Second Optional Protocol on abolition of death penalty
 | This article about government and politics in Turkmenistan is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |
 | This law enforcement–related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |
 | This human rights-related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |
 | This article about a criminal law topic is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |