The Kremlin is not discussing the potential reinstatement of capital punishment, the Russian president’s spokesman said
The Kremlin is not involved in any talks on lifting Russia’s moratorium on the death penalty in the wake of last week’s terrorist attack, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
At least 137 people were killed in Friday’s massacre at the Crocus City concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow, and more than 180 were injured, according to officials. The atrocity has reignited a debate among lawmakers on reinstating capital punishment, which has effectively been banned in Russia since 1996.
“We are not taking part in this discussion,” Peskov said in response to a question from TASS news agency.
Supporters of the move, including the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), Leonid Slutsky, have argued that an exception to the moratorium should be made for the four gunmen that carried out Friday’s attack.
The head of the United Russia faction in the State Duma, Vladimir Vasiliev, also stated after the tragedy that the idea of reintroducing the death penalty for acts of terrorism would be “deeply and professionally worked through” and that a decision will be made that will “meet the mood and expectations of our society.”
While the Russian criminal code technically has a provision for issuing the death penalty, courts are de facto banned from handing down such a sentence.
As explained by the head of the Federal Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation, Andrey Klishas, the reintroduction of capital punishment is legally impossible as neither chamber of Russia’s parliament “can overcome the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Russia on the issue of the death penalty.”