RUSSIA: DEATH PENALTY MORATORIUM WILL REMAIN

September 8, 2009: the Kremlin says Russia will continue to maintain a moratorium on capital punishment.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's spokeswoman Nataliya Timakova says neither the presidential administration nor the Russian judiciary are considering an end to it.
Timakova's comments Tuesday came in response to a report in this week's edition of the Russian Newsweek magazine, which claimed that the Kremlin is thinking about lifting the moratorium.
Russia pledged to abolish the death penalty when it joined the Council of Europe in 1996 and has maintained a moratorium on executions since then. But it has failed to outlaw the death penalty due to strong public support for it. (Sources: Ap, 08/09/09)