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Back "The death penalty is brutalising for society"

[05/02/07 11:00] In an opening address to the Third World Congress Against the Death Penalty (1-3 February, Paris), Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg said that politicians should take a leading role in educating the public about the real nature of the death penalty.

"They should make clear that this punishment does not deter crime and that it is cruel, inhuman and degrading. This is pertinent, as public opinion polls show that many people, even in Europe, still see the death penalty as a solution to the problem of crime." The Commissioner also stressed the ethical dimension. "Suggesting that social and political problems can be resolved through killing is morally wrong, and brutalising for society." Following his opening speech, Mr Hammarberg also chaired a panel discussion on the case of the Bulgarian nurses who have been sentenced to death in Libya, and participated in another discussion entitled "The death penalty: an inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment and punishment".