Recent death penalty news and upcoming online event

Recent news

This month, Vietnam sentenced property developer Truong My Lan to death for embezzlement. While Vietnam is generally secretive about its use of the death penalty, Amnesty International reports that this is not the first death sentence Vietnam has imposed for economic offences. This is a clear violation of international law.

In late March, Netra News was awarded the prestigious Sigma Award for their Body Count report on the staggering number of people killed in Bangladesh through extrajudicial killings, custodial torture and fatal shootings. This compelling interactive report was produced using data gathered by brave journalists in Bangladesh and collated and published by CPJP.

The Sigma Prize Committee recognised the risks taken by those in Bangladesh, describing the collaboration as:

“…a sign of a future where cross border data journalism can protect reporters in unsafe environments while at the same time uncovering extremely important issues.”

The United Nations considers countries that retain the death penalty but have not executed anyone in over 10 years to be de facto abolitionist. Disappointingly, having not executed anyone for over 20 years, the Democratic Republic of Congo announced last month that it plans to resume executions. You can read more about the response from international abolitionist organisations, including CPJP, here.

Here in Australia, we are closely watching the case of ASF17 v Commonwealth. While many would be aware of this case in relation to immigration detention, at CPJP we are alarmed that the person involved could face the death penalty due to his sexuality if he is deported to Iran. Our government is seeking to enforce his deportation, despite having accepted that sexual intercourse between men is illegal in Iran and punishable by death.

As a nation, Australia has a strong bipartisan policy against the use of capital punishment and a commitment to leadership in the universal abolition of the death penalty. This approach must be upheld in this case.

For an in-depth analysis of the persecution of sexual minorities, you can read State-sanctioned Killing of Sexual Minorities: Looking Beyond the Death Penalty, a joint report by Eleos Justice and CPJP here.

To learn more about why the death penalty remains an issue for Australians see CPJP’s helpful explainer, released this week on LinkedIn.

As the end of the financial year approaches, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to CPJP.

Upcoming online event

Life Under Attack: In Conversation with the UN Special Rapporteur on Belarus

Tuesday 23 April

Belarus is the last country in Europe that continues to implement the death penalty, and it shows no sign of stopping. Further, extrajudicial killings linked to protests in 2020 remain unsolved and at least four political prisoners died in custody in the past year.

Join our partner Eleos Justice to probe the realities and legal implications of various forms of state-sanctioned killing with Anaïs Marin, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus.

5-6 pm AEST, online.

Tickets are free and available here.

There are many ways you can support CPJP to continue the fight to end capital punishment

You can purchase a t-shirt or tote bag featuring the hauntingly beautiful artwork of Myuran Sukumaran. CPJP is grateful to Myuran’s family, the Campbelltown Arts Centre, and our friends at Das T-Shirt Automat.

Our partnership with Willed means you can easily create a will and, if you wish, leave a bequest to CPJP.

You can cheer on one of our volunteers, Elke, as she runs a half-marathon in June to raise money for our work.