Death Penalty News

Former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life imprisonment Thursday after being found guilty of leading an insurrection during his declaration of martial law in December 2024. The ruling, delivered by Seoul Central District Court Judge Jee Kui-youn, was lighter than the death penalty prosecutors sought at the trial's final hearing in January. The ruling was aired live on South Korea's major broadcasters. Jee said in the verdict that Yoon led an insurrection and committed acts to subvert the country's constitutional order.

The reported killing of thousands of protesters across Iran in just two days has raised a central question: who carried out one of the deadliest crackdowns in the country’s modern history? The scale of the violence—put at 12,000 by Iran International and as high as 20,000 by CBS—has shocked many Iranians. As images and accounts continue to emerge despite a near-total internet shutdown, attention has focused on who was responsible for the bloodshed.

Tehran’s Friday prayer leader Ahmad Khatami called for the execution of detained protesters and the arrest of anyone who supported the protests, delivering the remarks during his Friday sermon. Khatami, a hardline cleric appointed by Iran's Supreme Leader, accused protesters of acting on behalf of foreign powers, calling them “servants" of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and "soldiers of Trump." “They should await a harsh retaliation from the government. Americans and Zionists should not expect peace,” Khatami said. “The demonstrators were servants of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and soldiers of Trump.”

South Korea's beleaguered ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol has been found guilty of abuse of power, falsifying documents and obstructing justice when he tried and failed to impose martial law in the country in 2024. He has also been sentenced to five years in jail. Yoon is facing three other trials for charges ranging from insurrection to violating campaign law. The verdict comes more than a year after his short-lived decree threw South Korea into political turmoil, leaving it deeply divided.

SEOUL, South Korea — Special prosecutors on Tuesday asked a court to sentence former President Yoon Suk Yeol to death, labeling his short-lived 2024 martial law declaration an "act of insurrection" that brought the nation to the brink of constitutional collapse. The demand was made during closing arguments at the Seoul Central District Court, marking a dramatic climax to a trial that has gripped the country for months. Yoon, who was removed from office following the events of Dec. 3, 2024, faces charges of leading an insurrection and abuse of power.

Cameroon's main opposition leader, Maurice Kamto, has gone on trial in a military court in Yaoundé, along with 90 of his supporters. Kamto, who was the runner-up in last year’s presidential election, is accused of insurrection and rebellion, and could face the death penalty. Kamto arrived in court on Friday under tight security. The trial venue was protected by 200 police officers in anti-riot gear, while others patrolled the area in pick-up trucks. There had been calls from the opposition leader's followers for a protest rally outside the court. Kamto, together with several dozen of his political allies and supporters, faces charges of insurrection, hostility to the motherland and rebellion, crimes which, in theory at least, could carry the death penalty. The head of the opposition Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon (MRC) was arrested in January after months of peaceful opposition protests denouncing the results of the October 2018 presidential election. ...