The abolition of death penalty is likely to be one of the points on the agenda of a visit to Moscow by the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Rene van der Linden, which begins on Monday. This year will mark the 10th anniversary of Russia’s moratorium on capital punishment. Moscow should take over presidency in the CE Committee of Ministers in May this year. In light of the above, Russia’s position is quite delicate at the moment. Russia remains the only CE member state whose parliament has not yet ratified the abolishment of “legitimate murder.” Moreover, some politicians believe that the introduction of jury courts in Chechnya next year will remove the main obstacle to the reinstatement of the death penalty. The leading Russian lawyers stick to a different point of view. Besides, the proponents of the death penalty seem to be intent on scratching the extradition of criminals e.g. Akhmed Zakayev to Russia. In accordance with the European law, the formal surrender of an alleged criminal from an EU member state to another country may be carried out only if the former is confident that an extraditable person will not be executed by the government of the latter.
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The abolition of the death penalty was one of the requirements Russia was to meet prior to joining the Council of Europe. The countries of the Old World set the ball in motion in terms of the abolition of capital punishment worldwide. As many as 80 states abolished capital punishment in the 20th century. That is why Moscow signed the Protocol No. 6 to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which abolishes the death penalty in peacetime, after receiving the CE “membership card” in February 1996. On May 16, 1996 , Boris Yeltsin issued a decree “On the Gradual Decrease of the Use of Capital Punishment following the accession of Russia to the Council of Europe.” In keeping with the president’s decree, death sentence executions have not been carried out since August 1996. At the same time, a draft bill on the abolition of capital punishment has not been ratified thus far, despite the CE’s numerous appeals. Besides, Russia’s Criminal Code still has five articles providing for the capital punishment.
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