New Kyrgyz penal code

A new criminal code has come into effect in Kyrgyzstan, replacing the death penalty with a prison sentence of thirty years.

The BBC Central Asia correspondent says Kyrgyzstan is in the forefront of countries in the region trying to move away from the unwieldy and frequently draconian penal code established in Soviet times.

A Kyrgyz newspaper Slovo Kyrgyzstana says the revised code, which was agreed by parliament last September, also covers new criminal activities, including recruiting people with the aim of exploiting them and the forcible removal of human bodies for transplant purposes.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service