Russia’s decision to continue its ban on the death penalty was praised by the Council on Europe and media in Europe Thursday and Friday. The country’s Constitutional Court 18 November decided to continue indefinitely a country-wide moratorium on the death penalty, in place since 1999, which was scheduled to end in January 2010. Its rulings must be followed by all Russian courts, according to the Moscow Times. The government and the Kremlin have said they did not want executions begun again. Ten years ago the court decided that executions could take place only if all Russian regions had trials by jury in murder cases, and the last of the regions to implement this has been Chechnya, which is slated to start them in January.
Links to other sites: die Welte, Moscow Times, Ria Novosti
Pedophiles in Poland will face mandatory chemical castration after release from prison, according to a new law approved Friday 25 Septemberby Poland’s lower house of parliament. The law must be approved by the upper house. Human rights groups have criticized the law, saying mandatory punishments can often result in a perversion of justice. The Poland-based Helsinki Foundation of Human Rights says, “such a requirement is never reasonable and life can always produce cases that lawmakers could never have even dreamt of.” Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called pedophiles “degenerates” and has said “I don’t believe one can use the term “human” for such individuals, such creatures”. Reuters
