he European Union (EU) has rejected the death sentence
handed to 12 Nigerian soldiers by the General Court Martial in Nigeria for
alleged mutiny.
The EU in a statement issued yesterday on the occasion of the
World Day against Death Penalty condemned all death sentences especially after
mass trials as was the case with the Nigerian soldiers.
The union, headed by Secretary-General, Mr. Thorbjørn
Jagland, argued that execution had stopped in that region of the world for
close to two decades
According to the statement: “On the European
and World Day against the Death Penalty, the European Union and the Council of
Europe reaffirm their strong and absolute opposition to capital punishment in
all cases and under all circumstances, and their commitment to its worldwide
abolition.
“We are deeply concerned about setbacks in some countries,
such as recent mass trials leading to a vast number of death sentences. No
execution has taken place in our member states in the last 17 years.
The European Union and the Council of Europe welcome the fact
that all Member States of the European Union have now ratified both Protocols 6
and 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights, and urge all other European
States that have not yet done so to sign and ratify these instruments which aim
at the abolition of the death penalty.”
No comments:
Post a Comment