MOSCOW, October 14 (RAPSI) - President Vladimir Putin announced that he supports tougher punishment for corruption crimes, RIA Novosti reports Tuesday.

“Generally, I support stricter liability for corrupt activity,” Putin said at a meeting of the Human Rights Council.  He added that similar proposals should be discussed with human rights activists and public organizations.

However, the President did not support the proposal to prohibit pardons for bribe-takers. “Some measures are excessive, even from my perspective, such as no pardon for this category of criminals,” he said. The President added, though, that “if human rights organizations believe that pardons should be banned for corruption-related crimes, we could do that.”

Member of the Human Rights Council Kirill Kabanov suggested toughening punishment for state budget embezzlement to 10 to 20 years in prison without the right of early parole or pardon before the funds are returned. He recalled that the current maximum punishment for bribes is eight years.