Abolish the death penalty

DEATH PENALTY IN 2011

Developments on the use of the death penalty in 2011 confirmed the global trend towards abolition. The number of countries that were known to have carried out death sentences decreased compared to the previous year, and overall, progress was recorded in all regions of the world. Read more

The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. It is the premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state. This cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment is done in the name of justice.

It violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to kill the prisoner.

News and Updates
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News and Updates

Singapore authorities urged to save Malaysian man from execution

9 May 2012

Yong Vui Kong, who was 19 when he was first arrested for possessing 47g of heroin in 2007, faces imminent execution.

Kuwait’s Parliament must halt plans to introduce death penalty for blasphemy

17 April 2012

Legislators in Kuwait are due to vote on draft legislation that would make blasphemy a crime punishable by death.

Vote to Remove Death Penalty in Connecticut shows ‘great leadership’

5 April 2012

Connecticut’s State Senate has voted to abolish the death penalty, joining a worldwide trend away from capital punishment.

Japan executions a 'retrograde step'

29 March 2012

Japan has hanged three men in the country's first executions in almost two years, joining the minority of countries worldwide that are still executing.

Japan: 40 years on death row

27 March 2012

After four decades awaiting execution, a recent court development offers hope of retrial for death row prisoner Masaru Okunishi.

Appeals for action

Stop executions in Saudi Arabia

5 May 2011

Suliamon Olyfemi was sentenced to death after an unfair trial conducted in Arabic, which he does not understand. Siti Zainab Binti Duhri Rupa reportedly confessed to a murder while mentally ill.

Drop death sentences for men convicted of "sorcery" in Saudi Arabia

8 September 2010

Amnesty International is calling on the Saudi Arabian King to take the opportunity of the end of Ramadan to commute the death sentences against two foreign natonals convicted of “sorcery”.