PSKOV, August 28 (RIA Novosti) - The United Russia party is making concrete efforts to abolish death penalty in Russia before 2007, a member of the Russian parliament said at the opening of the Assistance to the Formation of the New Europe international seminar in Pskov (northwestern Russia).
Mikhail Margelov, the chairman of the Federation Council Committee for Foreign Affairs, said, "The United Russia party is working actively to ensure the legal abolishment of death penalty by the Russian parliament in its current composition before 2007 elections."
The summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe discussed a report on monitoring Russia's fulfillment of its obligations before this European body and decided to extend the term of the monitoring process.
The signing of the 7th Protocol of the Human Rights Convention, which abolishes death penalty, is one of the European requirements to lift monitoring of the situation in Russia.
