Death Penalty News

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept.24 -- Kazakhstan has joined the international document to abolish the death penalty, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Kazakhstan's Permanent Representative to the UN Kairat Umarov signed the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which oversees the abolishment of the death penalty. Kazakhstan’s decision to join the international protocol was announced by Kazakh President Kassym Jomart Tokayev during his speech at the General Debate of the 75th session of the UNGA.  Tokayev noted that the decision to join the protocol was with the goal to fulfill a fundamental right to life and human dignity. The use of the death penalty in Kazakhstan was completely suspended by the Decree of the President of Kazakhstan on the introduction of a corresponding moratorium in 2003. Source: trend.az , Nargiz Sadikhova, September 24, 2020 Council of Europe welcomes Kazakhstan’s decision to ab...

Forty-five lawyers, including some of the most prestigious names of the French bar, protested this week against what they call “state cynicism” in allowing French jihadists to be tried and sentenced to death in Baghdad. Between May 26th and June 3rd the Iraqi government tried 11 French jihadists for belonging to Islamic State, also known as Isis. All were sentenced to death by hanging. Since François Mitterrand abolished capital punishment in 1981, France has campaigned for an end to the practice worldwide. As the lawyers point out, article 66-1 of the French constitution forbids the death penalty and allows “no exception, not even in matters of terrorism”. The European Convention on Human Rights also forbids capital punishment in all circumstances. “It would be an immense dishonour to our country to make these death sentences possible,” the signatories write. The jihadists were captured by Kurdish forces in Syria and transferred to Baghdad. Paris originally plan...

NCRI - Germany's foreign ministry has condemned the mass execution of Sunni political prisoners earlier this week and the hanging of a juvenile offender last month in Iran. In a statement on Friday, August 5, Bärbel Kofler, Federal Government Human Rights Commissioner at the Federal Foreign Office, said: "I am deeply shocked that, as has transpired only now, Iran executed the young Iranian Hassan Afshar on 18 July." " Hassan Afshar was only 17 years old at the time of the crime he is accused of having committed. His execution is therefore a totally unacceptable violation of international law, especially since there are considerable doubts as to whether rule‑of‑law principles were complied with at his trial." "Not only the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, but also the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – both of which Iran has ratified – prohibit the execution of individuals who were minors at the time of the offenc...

President Erdogan said he would sign a reinstatement of the death penalty if parliament voted for it. Tentatively, cautiously, we can say that Turkey is dropping talk of reinstating capital punishment There are very few aspects of the 15 July coup attempt in Turkey that did not cause alarm abroad, but one that resonated more than most was the talk of reinstating the death penalty. It began the morning after the night before, with a call that rippled among the jubilant, flag-waving, "God is great"-shouting crowds. "We want the death penalty," they chanted over and again. "I have received your message. We have received your message. We will do what is necessary," Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told one group at a rally on 16 July. Let them hang All of a sudden, Turkish commentators and politicians were talking of a "crime of treason" that warranted the reinstatement of the death penalty. The press carried interviews...

Rights groups and legal experts said Wednesday that Turkey would be abandoning international rights conventions, and reverting to relics of military dictatorships if it reinstates the death penalty, which was abolished more than a decade ago. Since the failed coup, hundreds of protesters have chanted in support of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and demanded the restoration of the death penalty. Erdogan hasn't pushed back against those demands, saying reinstating it is a constitutional procedure that the parliament has to discuss. If the parliament approves it, he said, he would back it. "You cannot put aside the people's demands," Erdogan told hundreds of supporters late Monday at a rally outside his Istanbul home. But European leaders say talks on Turkey's bid to join the EU would end if Ankara restores the death penalty. Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2004, as part of its bid to join the bloc. Andrew Gardner, Amnesty researcher in T...

After the failed coup attempt of July 15 by a faction in the Turkish military orchestrated by the fugitive imam Fethullah Gulen, the discussion about reinstating the death penalty has become a major topic in Turkish politics. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested on Tuesday that he is ready to reinstate the death penalty if the people demand it and Parliament approves the necessary legislation. "In democracies, decisions are made based on what the people say. I think our government will speak with the opposition and come to a decision," Erdogan said to a large crowd chanting: "We want the death penalty," on Tuesday evening in Istanbul. "We hear your request. In a democracy, whatever the people want, they will get." he said. Speaking after the Cabinet meeting on Monday in Ankara, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said: "Turkey is a state of law, we engage in politics for our people," but added that it is not wise to rush to a decision on ca...

President Erdogan of Turkey President Erdogan of Turkey has told supporters that he will approve the death penalty being reintroduced if parliament votes for it . Amid an ongoing crackdown since an attempted coup was suppressed, the president appeared outside his Istanbul residence as the crowd called for capital punishment to be restored. “This issue will be discussed in parliament, these villains have carried out bombings and I believe that political parties in parliament will make the right decision,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his cheering followers. “As the (executive) authority, I hereby announce my decision that if they make such a move, I will approve it.” Erdogan highlighted other countries around the world such as America and China that have the death penalty, and said “only in European Union” nations was it banned. Brussels’ warning Ankara outlawed capital punishment in 2004 as part of its bid to join the EU. Officials in Brussels have warned that...

Typical 3-room cell in Skien prison, Norway, where Breivik is incarcerated. Norway violated mass killer Anders Behring Breivik's human rights by keeping him in isolation in prison after being sentenced for killing 77 people in twin attacks in 2011, a Norwegian court ruled on Wednesday. Breivik took Norwegian authorities to court in March , accusing them of exposing him to inhuman, degrading treatment or punishment in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. He protested his isolation from other inmates and from outsiders who are not professionals. "The prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment represents a fundamental value in a democratic society. This applies no matter what - also in the treatment of terrorists and killers," judge Helen Andenaes Sekulic said in her ruling. The verdict said the Norwegian state had broken Article 3 of the convention, pointing to the fact that Breivik is spending 22 to 23 hours a day alone in his cell. ...

The results of a poll have claimed that half of Muslims in Britain want gay sex to be made illegal. The survey was taken for Channel 4’s ‘What British Muslims Really Think’ programme. It found that 52 percent of Muslims in the UK think homosexuality should be illegal in the UK. The survey suggested a “chasm” between views in the Muslim community in Britain and the mainstream opinion of Brits. Undertaken by ICM, the poll asked over 1,000 British Muslims a range of questions. As well as over half saying homosexuality should be illegal, 39 percent said that they agreed that “wives should always obey their husbands”. 31 percent said it was acceptable for a man to have multiple wives. Of the respondents, 23 percent said they wanted the introduction of Shariah law in the UK. A question of adultery was also asked of respondents, 5 percent of who said they thought stoning was an appropriate punishments for those who commit it. 79 percent of those did say ...

Anders Breivik SKIEN, Norway — Mass killer Anders Behring Breivik kicked off his return to court by making a Nazi salute Tuesday during his bid to improve conditions inside the Norwegian prison where he is being held in isolation for massacring 77 people in bomb-and-gun attacks. Appearing in the public eye for the first time since his conviction nearly four years ago, the 37-year-old Norwegian and his lawyers are trying to convince a judge that his prison conditions are "inhuman" and violate the European Convention on Human Rights. The government has rejected his claims, saying he is being treated humanely and with dignity despite the severity of his crimes. With a dark suit and a shaved head, Breivik was led into the gym-turned-courtroom in Skien prison, where the trial is being held for security reasons. After prison guards removed his handcuffs, Breivik turned to journalists covering the hearing and stretched out his right arm in a Nazi salute. Stone-f...