GEORGIA VIRTUALLY ABOLISHES CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.

Publication: Monitor Volume: 2 Issue: 231

Marking International Human Rights Day yesterday, Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze officially instituted a moratorium on death sentences and forwarded amendments to the penal code for immediate parliamentary enactment. The amendments eliminate capital punishment for high treason and all other crimes except premeditated murder with aggravating circumstances. Georgia has for the last two years observed a de facto moratorium on carrying out death sentences. The Council of Europe and other fora demand this of ex-Communist countries in general. (Interfax, December 10)

Russian Army in Tajikistan Threatens Counter-Retaliation.