OMRI DAILY DIGEST

No. 232, Part II, 3 December 1996

Justice Minister Serhii Holovaty revealed that Ukraine has violated its pledge to the Council of Europe (CE) to uphold a moratorium on the death penalty, Ukrainian agencies reported on 29 November. He said more than 100 people on death row had been executed so far this year with 89 executions taking place in the first six months, in "shameful" violation of its promise to suspend executions as a condition for CE membership. The CE and Amnesty International condemned the news, with the latter claiming only China had carried out more executions this year, RFE/RL and AFP reported on 3 December. A 1993 Ukrainian law makes information on capital punishment a state secret. -- Chrystyna Lapychak