Ruci said he hoped his resignation would ease party reforms. His resignation is regarded as a victory by the party's reformers. In the first six months of 1996, the Tirana court sentenced nine people to death, Albania reported on 7 July. The court's chief judge said six are murderers and three are former communist officials convicted of crimes against humanity. The sentences have not been carried out.
Albanian law stipulates that every death sentence is automatically appealed to the president.
The Albanian Helsinki Committee is calling for the death penalty's abolition. Parliamentary speaker Pjeter Arbnori committed the country to abolishing the death penalty after Albania's admission to the Council of Europe in summer 1995. The parliament has so far failed to issue such legislation. Twenty people have been executed in Albania since 1990 and 12 have been pardoned. Theodor Melescanu on 8 July arrived in Greece for a two-day official visit, Greek and Romanian media reported.