MOSCOW. Nov 23 (Interfax) - The fight against terrorism must not restrict human rights and should not be used for popularizing the idea of returning death penalty to Russia, the Human Rights Council (HRC) said in a statement posted on its website on Monday.

"The fight against terrorism requires maximum of honesty and openness in the relations between government and society. This fight should not be allowed to be either deliberately or mindlessly used to restrict civil rights and liberties, to persecute dissidents, stimulate rise of intolerance and aggression, xenophobia and migrant-phobia, popularize the idea of overturning the moratorium on death penalty, for politicians' self-publicity," the statement reads.

According to the human rights campaigners, at the heart of the terrorist ideology lies "total contempt for human life, for fundamental values such as human dignity and individual rights and freedoms," and the only weapon against terrorism is the consolidation of efforts by all united nations and their civil societies.

The statement was signed by HRC chief Mikhail Fedotov, Yelena Masyuk, Nikolai Svanidze, Irina Khakamada and others.

Separately, the statement reflects a particular opinion of HRC member Igor Borisov who stated that "you cannot fight terrorism without using elements of