The return of the death penalty in Russia is impossible without the adoption of a new constitution, it cannot be returned with an amendment or referendum, said the first deputy chairman of the Federation Council's Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Construction Artem Sheikin.
Earlier, the chairman of the "A Just Russia - For the Truth" party, Sergei Mironov, sent a letter to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin with a request to initiate a review of the position of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation regarding the death penalty. According to Mironov, in the context of threats to national security, it is necessary to reassess the legal mechanisms for countering terrorism and to strengthen measures to protect the sovereignty and security of citizens.
Sheikin noted that the discussion about the return of the death penalty, given the "tragic events associated with Ukrainian neo-Nazis", has intensified, “but as the Chairman of the Constitutional Court Valery Dmitrievich Zorkin and the Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Construction of the Federation Council Andrey Klishas rightly note, such a step is impossible within the framework of the current constitution“.
"The Constitution of the Russian Federation directly guarantees everyone the right to life, and in combination with the decisions of the Constitutional Court, a stable legal regime has been formed that practically excludes the death penalty. In addition, Russia has undertaken international obligations in the field of human rights, including a moratorium, as a step towards the final abolition of the death penalty," explained Sheikin.
"The return of the death penalty is impossible without the adoption of a new Constitution. Neither by law, nor by referendum, nor by amendment can the death penalty be returned," said the senator, emphasizing that the moratorium is not a temporary measure, but a legal reality based on international obligations and the development of sustainable guarantees of human rights within the framework of the current constitutional and legal regime.
"If we remain committed to the rule of law, we must remember: the way back from the humanization of penal policy is the way to legal and moral uncertainty," he concluded.