21/02/2013 Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Strasbourg, 21.02.2013 – “I firmly condemn Japan‘s execution of three prisoners on death row,” said Renate Wohlwend (Liechtenstein, EPP/CD), general rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on the death penalty.
“Such an irreversible, cruel and inhuman punishment is unacceptable in a civilised country, no matter how heinous the crime.”
“Japan, which is an observer to the Council of Europe, has a duty to protect human rights and human dignity by abolishing the death penalty, but I sadly note that it is moving away from the European consensus in this field. I call on the Japanese authorities to seriously consider introducing a moratorium so that a major public debate can be held on the death penalty,” she concluded.