Medvedev Says He Would Not Have Introduced Death Penalty Suspension in Russia

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said that he would have brought in the death penalty suspension in Russia in 1996 but Moscow will carry out its international obligations, said media reports.

“Those who carried out terrorist attacks must be punished for them, but as for the death penalty, we have obligations,” Medvedev was quoted as saying.

He made the remarks during the talks with the leaders of parliamentary parties.

During the meeting, communist leader Gennady Zyuganov proposed reinstatement of the death penalty, reports said.

Many lawyers have made identical suggestions ever since twin suicide bombings at Moscow metro station on Monday in which 40 people were killed.

“I can say directly: if I was here (in the Kremlin) in the 1990s, the decisions would have been different. But it’s useless to talk about it now,” the president was quoted as saying.

In 1996, Russia joined the Council of Europe and inked the European Convention on Human Rights, following which the death penalty was de-facto abolished in the country.

(Based on internet reports)