ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Russia’s Constitutional Court effectively outlawed the death penalty today, saying a moratorium on capital punishment should remain in force until the nation fully bans executions.

Constitutional Court chief Valery Zorkin said Russia must extend the moratorium until it ratifies a European convention banning the death penalty.

Russia announced a moratorium on capital punishment when it joined the Council of Europe in 1996. It pledged to abolish it, but the Kremlin-controlled parliament has been reluctant to do so due to public support for the death penalty.

Persistent violence in the North Caucasus region has prompted some to demand the death penalty for those involved in terrorism, and pressure is strong to execute convicted serial killers, murderers and child abusers.

But reviving capital punishment would harm relations with the EU and undermine Kremlin claims that Russia is no less modern than European countries. President Dmitry Medvedev has spoken out about the importance of law and basic human values.

“The State Duma hasn’t yet ratified the protocol banning capital punishment because many in Russia support the death penalty,” said Mikhail Krotov, Medvedev’s envoy to the Constitutional Court.