Chairman of the Constitutional Court Zorkin: in the Russian Federation in the future may return the death penalty
Photo: Vladimir Vyatkin / RIA Novosti
In Russia, the death penalty may be returned in the future. This was allowed by the chairman of the Constitutional Court Valery Zorkin in his book “Constitutional Justice: Procedure and Meaning”, writes URA.ru.
He explained that the decision of the Constitutional Court, which makes it impossible to apply an exceptional measure of punishment in Russia at this historical stage of its development, does not exclude the possibility of returning the death penalty in the future. “As long as there are premeditated killings, the issue of the use of the death penalty cannot be completely closed,” he said.
Earlier, the head of the Human Rights Council (HRC) Valery Fadeev spoke out against the lifting of the moratorium on the death penalty. In his opinion, it is impossible to cancel the moratorium in Russia, since mistakes are not excluded when passing a sentence. He also noted that he understands those who want the maximum punishment for those who have committed a crime against their friends and relatives.
In 2019, it became known that more than half of Russians (68 percent) believe that criminals can be executed for sexual crimes against minors and for murder (57 percent). In total, 69 percent of the respondents consider the death penalty permissible. Citizens also indicated that it is possible to execute for terrorism (53 percent), rape (52 percent), drug trafficking (26 percent), high treason and disclosure of state secrets (17 percent), bribery (14 percent), espionage (9 percent), desecration religious shrines, theft, robbery, robbery (6 percent), tax evasion (1 percent).
The moratorium on the death penalty in Russia was introduced on April 16, 1997; it has been in effect since the country joined the Council of Europe. The last death sentence in the Russian Federation was carried out in 1996.
