Russian court looks at death penalty ban extension
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Published: November 9, 2009
ST.PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Russia's Constitutional Court has launched hearings on whether a moratorium on capital punishment should remain in force next year.
Constitutional Court spokeswoman Yulia Andreyeva says it began considering the issue Monday but will issue a ruling later.
Russia announced a moratorium on capital punishment when it joined the Council of Europe in 1996 and pledged to abolish it, but has not done so.
A formal moratorium imposed in 1999 is expected to lose its legal foundation in January when jury trials are introduced in Chechnya, the only province where they are not available.
That could create a contradiction with Russia's international commitment to refrain from imposing the death penalty.
The Kremlin has said there are no plans to bring back capital punishment.
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