Not a single person sentenced to death has been executed in Uzbekistan since 2005, Justice Minister Fozilzhon Otakhonov told Interfax on Friday.

"Not a single death sentence has been put into practice since a law abolishing the death penalty was adopted [on August 1, 2005]. It was proposed by the president of the Republic of Uzbekistan," he said.

The law "is governed by all generally accepted principles and standards of international law and constitutional provisions that proclaim and guarantee every person’s right to life," he added.

The document is aimed at abolishing the death penalty as a form of punishment altogether starting from January 1, 2008, and replacing it by life imprisonment or long-term prison sentences, Otakhonov said.

Only two crimes - premeditated murder committed under aggravating circumstances and terrorism - carry a death sentence in Uzbekistan today, the minister said.

"Legislation bans the application of this kind of punishment to underage children, women and persons above 60 years old, regardless of the gravity of their crime," he said.