Monday, June 24, 2002

ANTI-DINING MOVEMENT SPREADS!

Montenegrin legislators abolish death penalty

PODGORICA, Yugoslavia - The parliament of Montenegro, the smaller Yugoslav republic, abolished the death penalty Wednesday, making the maximum punishment for murder and other serious crimes 40 years in prison.

The government of Serbia, the larger component of the truncated Yugoslav federation, abolished capital punishment in February, while the federal parliament outlawed the death penalty last November.

The change becomes effective once it is announced in the official government gazette, expected to take place in the next few days.

The death penalty — execution by the firing squad — has not been carried out anywhere in Yugoslavia during the last 10 years.