After suspension from the Council of Europe, Russia considers reintroducing the death penalty
Russia is openly considering the reintroduction of the death penalty following the country’s suspension from the Council of Europe over the Ukraine war.
The vice chairman of the National Security Council and former president, Dmitry Medvedev, called the decision to suspend Russia’s membership “unfair.” However, he said, this is a reason for Russia to “slam the door on this organization for good” and allow Russia to reintroduce the death penalty.
The Committee on Legislation of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma, also commented earlier. There are no legal obstacles to the imposition of the death penalty, said the deputy chairman, Yuri Sinelshchikov.
According to Sinelshchikov, all that is needed to resume the death penalty is a political decision. Essential is the will of the president, he said. One obstacle, however, could be the lack of appropriate judicial chambers and executors to impose and carry out death sentences.
Politician Andrei Klischas, a member of the Federation Council, on the other hand, recalled the binding decision of the Constitutional Court to suspend the death penalty. Russian President Vladimir Putin has not yet commented publicly on the issue.
Russia last executed a convict in 1996, and in 1999 the death penalty was initially suspended for ten years. then in 2010, the Constitutional Court in St. Petersburg decided to extend the moratorium, citing Russia’s international obligations, such as membership in the Council of Europe, as the reason.