EU must push for end to executions

1.47.04pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 1st Feb 2007

London's Liberal Democrat MEP and vice-chair of the European Parliament's human rights sub-committee Baroness Sarah Ludford has welcomed a European Parliament resolution calling for the EU to give vigorous leadership in the UN to an Italian initiative for a moratorium leading to the universal abolition of the death penalty.

Sarah, who is a patron of Fair Trials Abroad which supports accused people abroad, has been a vigorous campaigner against capital punishment at both the legislative level and through her work on individual cases, such as that of Mirza Tahir Hussain. She has spoken out against the death sentences imposed on five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor in Libya and will join a rally in Sofia on February 9th.

Sarah commented:

"Execution is a barbaric practice which has no place in today's world. It is shocking that 20,000 are waiting on death row. Romani Prodi is to be applauded for reviving efforts to eradicate them."

"The EU deserves real credit for doing a lot of persistent but rather quiet work trying to persuade governments around the world to abandon the death penalty. But it needs to become louder and bolder, not only towards a country like China which accounts for 80% of executions but also towards the US."

"The slow but sure change of opinion in the United States towards abolition is a bright spot, with 12 states now being free of capital punishment, and MEPs need to forge alliances across the Atlantic to encourage this trend."

Notes

According to Amnesty International, in 2005, at least 2,148 people were executed in 22 countries and at least 5,186 people were sentenced to death in 53 countries. These figures are the minimum figures - the true figures are certain to be much higher. In 2005, 94% of all known executions took place in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the USA. For more information see http://web.amnesty.org/pages/deathpenalty-index-eng

<http://web.amnesty.org/pages/deathpenalty-index-eng>

In the United States, 1060 people have been executed since 1976. For more information, see http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/ <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/>