The movement towards attaining membership in the Council of Europe saw standards being set for Armenia by the Council. In 1999, five gunmen shot up parliament, murdering the current prime minister, parliament speaker and six government officials. Some Armenians and high-ranking government officials demanded the gunmen be executed under the retained death penalty. However, due to the moratorium set in place post-1991, the execution of the gunmen was turned away, and instead they were sentenced to life imprisonment.