Uzbek president opposes death penalty

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Uzbek President Islam Karimov said he supports the abolition of the death penalty in his country, but not just yet, Interfax news agency said Thursday.

"We must abolish the death penalty as the capital punishment," the leader of the former Soviet republic in Central Asia said during a break in a parliament session on Thursday.

However, the public in Uzbekistan is not ready for this decision, Karimov said. Public opinion polls show that the majority of citizens support the death penalty, he said.

Uzbekistan faces a security challenge from Islamist extremists and Karimov has sought to counter this by retaining close relations with Russia.