Ella Pamfilova, head of the presidential human rights...

Ella Pamfilova, head of the presidential human rights commission, declared her opposition to lifting Russia's moratorium on capital punishment. "The introduction of capital punishment has never led to lower crime rates in society," Pamfilova told the Ekho Moskvy radio station. Four days earlier Moscow authorities had started questioning Adam Dekkushev and Yusuf Krymshmkhalov, who were charged with bombing two buildings in Moscow and Volgodonsk, southern Russia, in September 1999, killing more that 240 people. Lawyer Igor Trunov, representing people affected by apartment building bombings in Moscow, had said that his clients are preparing a letter asking the State Duma to lift the moratorium on capital punishment for the terrorists involved in those crimes. "These people [the bombing victims] can be understood: But the experience of a large number of nations shows that tougher punishments do not help reduce the level of terrorism," Pamfilova said.