16 Mar 2022 20:58

LDPR may initiate referendum on reintroducing capital punishment in Russia

MOSCOW. March 16 (Interfax) - The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) is ready to propose for discussion its initiative on a referendum for returning capital punishment for the most serious crimes, the party's faction in the State Duma said.

"This is an ambiguous matter, and LDPR may initiate a referendum on returning the death penalty for the most serious crimes that are condemned by the public, for example for corruption in especially large amounts, for raping children, for murdering in an especially perverted manner, for terrorism, etc.," the faction said in a statement on the Telegram channel of party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky on Wednesday.

The issue emerged because "Russia is leaving the Council of Europe and consequently, sheds the shackles of values and rules that are alien to us," it said. "One of them is the ban on capital punishment, which is being used everywhere beyond the European Union: in the United States, China, India, Japan, Egypt and 47 other countries," the LDPR faction said.