INDEX

The House of Delegates has passed a bill replacing the death penalty with life in prison without parole. The governor of the US state has been supporting the bill and promised to sign it into law.

A report published by the Death Penalty Project and the Center for Prisoners’ Rights shows that Japanese law and practice on capital punishment violate international treaties, and questions the high level of public support for the death penalty reported by the authorities.

This annual report covers the situation of death penalty cases involving Puerto Ricans who face death penalty proceedings in the federal jurisdiction, as well as in those states of the US where such punishment is strictly upheld, and one case of petition for extradition.

February was a month of intense strategising for members of the regional coalition against the death penalty as well as region’s ACATs, as two meetings convened to discuss the best options to spur on Africa’s march towards abolition.

Human Rights Watch is launching a 30-page report on juvenile offenders awaiting execution on Yemen’s death row.

Abolitionists worldwide protest the execution of three prisoners in Japan on 21st February and call on the new justice minister to heed international calls for restraint.

World Coalition member organisations PRI and FHRI launch a small grants programme for local NGOs on the abolition of the death penalty and humane alternative sanctions in nine countries.

As Kazakhstan’s authorities prepare to introduce a new penal code, World Coalition members are warning against attempts to broaden the offences punishable by death.

The Taiwanese authorities have been conducting a voluntary assessment of the human rights situation in the country, culminating in the visit of a panel of experts in late February. The World Coalition is taking part in the process.

The World Coalition’s Indonesian member organization KontraS has raised the international consequences of Lindsay Sandiford’s high-profile capital case in an opinion article published by the Jakarta Globe newspaper, calling on the country to abolish the death penalty.