PACE [Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe]...

PACE [Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe] chairman Peter Shider believes that everything achieved in Russia through its Council of Europe membership outweighs any negative factors.
In an article carried in the newspaper Izvestia, he said Russia has made significant progress in carrying out its obligations concerning the consolidation of democracy, respect for human rights, and the supremacy of law. However, the PACE chief also noted that capital punishment has formally not yet been cancelled in Russia. In addition, he writes, Russian prisons are overcrowded, money is scarce, and prisoners are actually denied proper medical care. Arousing Shider's gravest concern is the situation in Chechnya, where human rights continue to be violated and newly-drafted Russian soldiers continue to die.