No room for double standards in fight against death penalty
Date
Sections
- Ashton must raise Mumia Abu-Jamal case with Obama administration
Speaking in an EP debate to mark World Day against the Death Penalty, Danish MEP Søren Søndergaard deplored the practice of execution by states of defenceless people in custody and raised the case of US death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal.
"The death penalty itself is a crime. But it is often more than that; waiting on death row in miserable conditions for years is torture. Capital punishment is also a form of terror, used to frighten people from resisting oppression and dictatorship."
"African-American journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal - the voice of the voiceless - is a key symbol of struggle against the death penalty. For nearly 30 years he has sat on death row, convicted in a trial notable for its errors and racism. High Representative Ashton should raise the case with US authorities - in the fight against the death penalty there is no room for double standards. In the fight against the death penalty there applies only one standard: unconditional rejection."
The European Parliament will vote on a resolution on the death penalty tomorrow.
Parlement européen, Bruxelles 06/10/2010
Il n'est pas question de faire deux poids deux mesures dans la lutte contre la peine de mort
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