Strasbourg, 11.04.2012 – The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Jean-Claude Mignon, today expressed his consternation at the execution of three sentenced persons by the authorities in Gaza.

“By this barbaric and ignoble act, the authorities in Gaza have deliberately chosen alienation from the values that the Council of Europe stands for. Recourse to capital punishment anywhere is quite simply unjustifiable.”

By signing “Partner for Democracy” status with PACE on 4 October last year in Strasbourg, the Palestinian National Council expressed its aspiration to espouse the values of the Council of Europe, and pledged action to abolish capital punishment and encourage the competent authorities to introduce a moratorium on executions. (more...)