Death Penalty News

A United Nations expert on violence offered a shocking reaction when a female October 7 survivor confronted her for denying Hamas' rapes after she detailed her own sexual abuse at the hands of the terrorist group. Ilana Gritzewsky testified at the UN Human Rights Council's 62nd session on Tuesday and offered an emotional account of the trauma Hamas inflicted on her when she was held as a hostage. 'On October 7, terrorists stormed our Kibbutz, murdering, kidnapping, and burning,' Gritzewsky said. 'They touched me and sexually abused me.' Gritzewsky, who was brought to the floor by watchdog nongovernmental organization UN Watch, added that she had been sexually assaulted by at least seven Hamas terrorists.

Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist factions systematically used sexual violence during the 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel and against hostages held in Gaza , according to an Israeli civilian-led commission 's findings. The commission, formed in November 2023, said its two-year investigation concluded that "sexual violence was repeatedly carried out in a systematic manner throughout the attack and its aftermath." Hamas has consistently denied allegations of sexual assault. The report, titled "Silenced No More," was published Tuesday by the Civil Commission on Oct. 7 Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children , an independent panel established in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

Hundreds of Hamas terrorists accused of committing war crimes during their October 2023 attack could face the death penalty after Israel late Monday approved the creation of a special military tribunal to prosecute their cases. In a rare show of Israeli political unity, the legislation received broad backing from both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition and much of the opposition, passing with 93 votes in favor and zero against.

The executed man was arrested in June 2025. A Swedish citizen was executed in Iran on Wednesday, according to a statement released by Sweden’s Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard. “It is with dismay that I have received information that a Swedish citizen has been executed in Iran earlier today,” Stenergard wrote, adding “the responsibility for this rests solely with Iran.” The executed man, who has not been named, was arrested in June 2025 according to the Foreign Ministry.

Military Advocate General Itay Offir will oversee the cases under new legislation advancing in the Knesset, with indictments against more than 300 captured Nukhba terrorists already prepared, officials say  Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said Monday that the Military Advocate General’s Corps will oversee the prosecution of Hamas Nukhba terrorists accused of carrying out the Oct. 7 massacre, instead of the State Attorney’s Office.  The decision comes as legislation regulating the prosecution of the terrorists advances in the Knesset and was approved by the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee for a first reading. 

Prime minister presses Itamar Ben-Gvir to amend proposed law mandating execution for terrorists, citing international and legal concerns as security agencies and opposition lawmakers push back. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to soften a proposed bill mandating the death penalty for terrorists, citing concerns over potential international fallout, officials familiar with the matter told ynet on Saturday.  Netanyahu’s aides approached Ben-Gvir, who opposes changes to the legislation, arguing that Israel cannot enact a death penalty law harsher than the standard applied in the United States. Sources said the prime minister and coalition leaders would not allow the bill to pass in its current form.

Hostages should be given "the honor of pressing the button" to carry out death penalties for Hamas terrorists, former Gaza hostage Eliya Cohen said in an Instagram post on Tuesday, in response to a Hamas statement criticizing Otzma Yehudit's death penalty bill. "Raping, murdering, smashing heads, desecrating bodies, burning babies, kidnapping civilians, and torturing them 24/7, is that not a violation of the international convention?" Cohen wrote.

ALGIERS , Nov. 12 (DPN) — Franco-Algerian novelist and dissident Boualem Sansal was released from prison on Tuesday after a personal intervention by Germany’s president , bringing to an end nearly a year of detention that had strained Algeria’s relations with Europe . Sansal, 81, a longtime critic of Algeria’s ruling establishment , had been arrested in November 2024 and sentenced to five years in prison on national security charges that human rights organizations denounced as politically motivated. Observers described his trial as arbitrary and lacking due process, with lawyers and family members often denied access during his detention.

The legislation is expected to be brought before the Knesset plenum for a preliminary vote this week. A bill to impose the death penalty on convicted terrorist murderers is expected to advance in the Knesset this week after gaining the backing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. Israel Defense Forces Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, Jerusalem’s coordinator for the captives and missing, told lawmakers on Monday morning that the premier withdrew his opposition to the bill after the last living hostages taken to the Gaza Strip by Hamas terrorists were released.

Bill to form special tribunal calls to try October 7 suspects under Israel’s genocide law, which can carry a death sentence, though decision ultimately in PM’s hands  Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced on Thursday that he is advancing legislation in the Knesset to establish a special criminal tribunal to try Gazans accused of carrying out massacres and atrocities on October 7, 2023, in a process that could result in death sentences being handed down to those convicted.

Two French nationals have been handed lengthy prison sentences by a court in Iran after being convicted of espionage, Iranian state media reports. The reports do not name the defendants but they are believed to be Cecile Kohler, 40, and her partner Jacques Paris, 72, the only French nationals being held in Iran. They were arrested in May 2022 during a tourist trip. The pair have been found guilty of spying on behalf of both France and Israel, the reports say. The announcement comes more than a month after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a deal to exchange French detainees for an Iranian woman held in France was nearly complete.

Horrifying footage has emerged which shows Palestinians being executed by Hamas, sparking fears that the Gaza peace deal is already at risk of collapsing as the terror group tries to cling to power.  In disturbing footage circulating on social media, a group of men can be seen kneeling on the ground with their hands behind their backs.  Armed militants - some wearing Hamas-style headbands - stand behind the victims with their faces covered before gunshots ring out and the seven kneeling men fall to the ground, apparently lifeless.  Cheering crowds scream 'Allah Akbar,' or 'God is great', and brand the executed men 'collaborators' while filming the scenes on their phones. A Hamas source confirmed the authenticity of the video.

Prisoners released after Hamas frees the last 20 living hostages; among those released are dozens of high-profile terrorists sentenced to life in jail; 154 of the worst offenders deported to Egypt Israel on Monday freed nearly 2,000 Palestinians — including hundreds of terror convicts serving life terms — from its prisons as part of a deal to reach a ceasefire and release the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip . Shortly after 20 living hostages were freed, Israel put 1,968 Palestinian prisoners on buses that departed for the West Bank and Gaza.

The vote to approve the bill for first reading went ahead despite a request from the Prime Minister's Office, according to Israel's national security minister. The Knesset National Security Committee on Sunday approved for first reading a bill that would impose the death penalty on terrorists. Committee members voted to advance the law, which was introduced by Otzma Yehudit Party Knesset member Limor Son Har-Melech, despite warnings by Israel Defense Forces Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, coordinator for the captives and missing, that the move could endanger the hostages held by Hamas.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir insists that a bill to impose the death penalty on terrorists will “allow us to bring the hostages home,” and says he rejected a request to push off discussion of the controversial measure over concerns that it could complicate efforts to free them. Ben Gvir tells the Knesset National Security Committee, which is holding a meeting to advance the legislation, that the bill will “bring deterrence” and “advance the return of the hostages” while showing Hamas that “there is a price tag for what they did” on October 7.

Iran has transferred French nationals Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris to undisclosed locations after they survived explosions during Israeli strikes on Tehran’s Evin prison on June 23, their family told Iran International.  “Iranian authorities don't tell [us] where they are being held,” Cécile’s sister Noémie told Iran International on Friday.  The couple were arrested in May 2022 while on a tourist trip to Iran.  Noémie said that since the Israeli strike, they have had only one consular visit, on July 1, when the family was relieved to learn that they were "at least still alive.” 

Deux Français détenus en Iran depuis plus de trois ans ont été formellement inculpés d'espionnage pour le compte du Mossad, l'agence de renseignement israélienne. Cécile Kohler et son compagnon, Jacques Paris, sont également accusés de complot visant à renverser le régime et de l'accusation générale de « corruption sur terre » – un délit passible, comme les autres, de la peine de mort. Kohler, professeure de littérature de 40 ans, et Paris, son compagnon de 72 ans, ont été arrêtés le 7 mai 2022 à la fin d'un voyage touristique en Iran. Leur situation juridique est longtemps restée floue, laissant leurs familles dans l'angoisse et sans réponse.

Two French nationals detained in Iran for more than three years have been formally charged with spying for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. Cécile Kohler and her partner, Jacques Paris, also face accusations of conspiracy to overthrow the regime and the sweeping charge of “corruption on earth” — an offense that, like the others, can carry the death penalty. Kohler, a 40-year-old literature teacher, and Paris, her 72-year-old partner, were arrested on 7 May 2022 at the end of a tourist trip to Iran. For a long time, their legal status remained unclear, leaving their families in distress and without answers.

Southern District Attorney Erez Padan, who is in charge of prosecuting Nukhba [special forces unit of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas] terrorists, is also reportedly opposed to pursuing convictions for crimes that can not be proven in court. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has prohibited public hearings on a proposed law to execute October 7 Nukhba terrorists, fearing it could endanger the lives of hostages still held by Hamas, according to Maariv. The legislation, referred to as the “Genocide Prevention Law,” which was introduced by MKs Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionist Party) and Yulia Malinovsky (Yisrael Beytenu), aims to apply the death penalty to individuals found guilty of promoting genocide. Currently, Nukhba terrorists are prosecuted under standard criminal charges in the penal code.

Israel has compiled a thick dossier against the suspected killers who unleashed the Oct. 7 bloodshed For the first time in more than 60 years, Israeli prosecutors say they are poised to hang Hamas terrorists who raped and slaughtered residents of a kibbutz. The last time the country executed anyone was when Nazi henchman Adolf Eichmann was hanged on June 2, 1962. According to the U.K. Sun, Israeli intelligence agents have uncovered a mountain of evidence since the Hamas death cult unleashed the latest Mideast war on Oct. 7, 2023.