Russia to abolish death penalty

Russia to abolish death penalty

RUSSIA PLANS to abolish the death penalty, replacing it with life imprisonment, the Justice Minister, Pavel Krasheninnikov, said yesterday. When Russia joined the Council of Europe in 1996 it promised to abolish the death penalty by 28 February this year. Mr Krasheninnikov said a package of criminal code amendments to replace the death penalty with life sentences would be ready by March.