Saturday, March 3, 2012

Russian court extends moratorium on death penalty

Russia's Constitutional Court effectively outlawed the death penalty Thursday, saying a moratorium on capital punishment should remain in force until the nation fully bans executions.

Constitutional Court chief Valery Zorkin said Russia must extend the moratorium on executions until it ratifies a European convention banning the death penalty.

Russia announced a moratorium on capital punishment when it joined the Council of Europe in 1996. It pledged to completely abolish it, but the Kremlin-controlled parliament has been reluctant to do so due to public support for the death penalty.

Persistent violence in the North Caucasus region has prompted some …

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