Japan executions
Strasbourg, 29/03/12 – “Sadly, just when our hope was that Japan – an Observer country to the Council of Europe, was moving toward a moratorium and perhaps even abolition of the death penalty, three death row inmates have been hanged. I deeply regret this sudden, brutal act. Death is not justice,” said Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe.
Parliamentary Assembly President Jean-Claude Mignon also strongly condemned the executions. "We expect Japan, as a country enjoying observer status with the Council of Europe, to share our values and fundamental principles. In April last year, the Assembly again urged Japan to join the growing consensus among those democratic countries which have done away with capital punishment so as to protect human rights and human dignity. These executions show that Japan has decided to ignore our request and defy the international community by continuing to swim against the tide of the worldwide abolition trend", he stated. (more...)