Russia: Medvedev does not rule out return to death penalty

Russia: Medvedev does not rule out return to death penalty

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev does not theoretically rule out the reintroduction of the death penalty in his country. The reason could be, for example, a worsening of the crime situation.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told the state news agency Ria Novosti that the international obligation to suspend the death penalty fell away when he left the Council of Europe.

Theoretically, he does not rule out a reintroduction in his country. The reason could be, for example, a worsening of the crime situation, according to Medvedev. At the same time, he emphasized that it was a “difficult question” and that there was no need to reintroduce it if everything remained “quiet” in Russia.

“There are no more restrictions,” said the current deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council. What remained were moral and religious considerations, as well as the previous case law of the Russian Constitutional Court against the death penalty. “But the decisions of the constitutional court are not holy scriptures, they can change,” said Medvedev, according to information on Friday in Moscow.

Russia did not abolish the death penalty, but suspended it

He pointed out that the Soviet Union reintroduced the death penalty, which had been suspended after World War II, when crime got out of hand. Russia did not abolish the penalty when it joined the Council of Europe in 1996, but it was suspended by a moratorium that was extended several times.

Because of the war against Ukraine that began on February 24, Russia left the Council of Europe to avoid expulsion. After that, the largest human rights organization in Europe voted to exclude Moscow.

Source: Stern

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