Africa : 3 abolitions of the death penalty in one year
Good news
After Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea has adopted a new Penal Code that abolishes the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
In October 2021, the President of Sierra Leone signed into law a bill for abolition.
In June 2022, the President of the Central African Republic promulgated the law abolishing the death penalty.
In September 2022, the President of Equatorial Guinea signed into law a new legislation abolishing capital punishment in Equatorial Guinea’s penal code.
The death penalty is however still mentioned in the Constitution (Under Article 13 (a), capital punishment shall be imposed only for crimes established by the law) and in the Code of Military Justice.
The new Penal Code enter into force 90 days after its promulgation, in December 2022. Equatorial Guinea will then become the 25th abolitionist country in Africa and the 112th in the world.
