Search Results for: moratorium

For years, Sri Lanka has occupied the international spotlight for one of its contentious laws—the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). The PTA was introduced in 1979 during the Sri Lankan Civil War using the emergency law provisions in Part II of the Public Security Ordinance. While similar laws exist in other nations, showing widespread acceptance [...]

A new report released by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) has dubbed 2022 the “Year of the Botched Execution,” shedding light on critical issues that mire the capital punishment process in the US — including racial discrimination and problems with prosecutorial accountability. The report highlights that botched executions and protocol errors have led to [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Friday condemned Sri Lanka’s proposed Anti-Terrorism Act, arguing that it would allow authorities to systematically violate fundamental human rights. HRW recommended that the government withdraw the bill until it can properly uphold international human rights standards. The current format of the bill, intended to replace the 1979 Prevention of Terrorism Act, [...]

Malaysia’s Parliament Monday began its consideration of two bills introduced to abolish mandatory death penalties for certain sentences. The Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Bill of 2023 would reverse prior laws that require a mandatory death sentence for 33 different offenses. While the bill would not completely abolish the use of the death penalty, it [...]

Sayfullo Saipov, responsible for the death of eight people in an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack, was sentenced to life in prison Monday after a New York jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision on his sentence. Saipov had been convicted on 28 counts by the same jury in January 2023. Saipov was facing the death [...]

The Idaho Ways and Means Committee Wednesday introduced House Bill 186 in the Idaho House of Representatives, which would provide for execution by firing squad. The bill provides that if lethal injection is unavailable as a method of execution at the time of an execution, a firing squad would be the state’s chosen method of [...]

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro Thursday announced that he will not issue execution warrants while in office, thus continuing a moratorium on the death penalty in Pennsylvania. The governor also called on the PA General Assembly to abolish the death penalty in Pennsylvania. Speaking in Philadelphia, Shapiro shared that his view of the use of the [...]

Belarusian law students enrolled at European Humanities University are filing reports with JURIST on current circumstances in Belarus under the constitutionally-disputed presidency of Alexander Lukashenka. Here, one of them discusses new Criminal Code provisions explicitly authorizing Belarusian officials and soldiers to be put to death for committing “treason to the state”. For privacy and security [...]

Amnesty International Monday condemned the death sentences of 54 individuals linked by Algerian prosecutors to the lynching of activist Djamel Ben Smail amid wildfires in the Kabylie region in August 2021. Amnesty alleged that numerous fair trial violations occurred during the mass proceedings in November 2022. Amnesty also raised alarm about claims of torture and [...]

The Palestine Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Sunday announced that Israeli authorities withdrew the VIP travel permit for the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Dr. Riyad Al-Malki. VIP travel permits allow selected senior Palestinian officials to travel about the occupied West Bank freely in contrast to ordinary Palestinians.  Authorities revoked the benefit during [...]