Amnesty International today welcomed the commutation of the death sentences of 14 death row prisoners, by the authorities in Benin, as a sign of the country’s commitment to the abolition of the death penalty. The prisoners – 10 Beninese, two Nigerians, one Togolese and one Ivorian – were the last remaining people on death row in Benin. They had all been languishing on death row, under grim conditions, for between 18 to 20 years. The commutations followed the Constitutional Court judgement in January 2016 which effectively abolished the death penalty for all crimes in the country.
