The EU "congratulates" Uzbekistan for taking the "important decision" and urges the government to "fully implement it and carry out further reforms of the judicial system," said the statement, posted on the presidency’s Web site Friday.

Uzbekistan switched the death penalty to life imprisonment, which will apply only to those convicted of terrorism and premeditated murder with aggravating circumstances, according to Uzbekistan’s state news agency UzA.

The life sentences also will not be applied to people under 18 or over 60.

The death penalty was abolished on the basis of an order by President Islam Karimov in 2005.

In the statement, Slovenia’s presidency reaffirmed the EU’s "objective on working towards universal abolition of the death penalty."

The EU "believes that abolition by Uzbekistan is an important step towards that aim and hopes that this decision will encourage other countries in the region to follow suit," the statement said.