DEATH PENALTY / TERRORISM: MOSCOW MAYOR, AS ALWAYS, HURRIES TO SHOW HIS TOUGHNESS

PRESS RELEASE

MOSCOW, MARCH 23, 2001

The politician, town-planner and writer Yury Luzhkov supports introduction in Russia of the death penalty for terrorists. This way the Moscow mayor reacted to three acts of terrorism accomplished today in the south of Russia. (POLIT.RU - news line - 24/03/2001).

STATEMENT OF NIKOLAY KHRAMOV, RUSSIAN COORDINATOR OF THE RADICAL PARTY:

"Moscow mayor Luzhkov as always, like it was in connection with previous explosions, hurries to show his toughness offering his universal recipe for all occasions: to cut the villains' heads - and it's in the bag! However, this praiseworthy blood-thirstiness of the Moscow governor risks to be broken ingloriously against a "small" obstacle of technical and political character: the membership of Russia in the Council of Europe. I don't think, however, that Yury Mikhaylovich did not know about it. Nor do I think that he wasn't aware also of the legal impossibility even to pass death sentences (to say nothing of executions) in today's Russia because of the decision of the Constitutional Court concerning illegality of death sentences until the jury is implemented in all regions of Russia (including Chechnya!). That's another matter: it is an unscrupulous and disgusting populism of this politician who thinks that "the man in the street" aspires only to execute somebody (better - publicly) and tough speeches will m

ake him love even more the tough economic executive on the Moscow throne".

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