INDEX

Iran has taken a dreadful step in the wrong direction in the summer of 2007, through a combination of an increase in executions and the repression of activists opposed to the death penalty.

Kenneth Foster, who was sentenced to death in Texas for having driven a murderer in his car, saw his sentence commuted on August 30 – thanks to unprecedented mobilisation.

The execution of Johnny Ray Conner, the 400th inmate put to death in Texas since the US reinstated capital punishment 31 years ago, has attracted heavy criticism from abolitionist activists and political institutions.

The countdown to the fifth World Day Against the Death Penalty on October 10 has begun. It will focus on the proposed resolution against capital punishment to be discussed in the UN this autumn.

Abolitionists in the Arab World have been generating increased mobilisation and improved co-ordination, with the assistance of Penal Reform International, a member of the World Coalition.

During the past year, the 28 member associations in the FIACAT network have given their abolitionist activities a boost. The issue of the death penalty is at the heart of their mission.

For the seventh consecutive year, 200 people showed their support for American death-row prisoners and their opposition to capital punishment in an event in Paris organised by ACAT France and Amnesty International France.

The General Assembly of the World Coalition took place in Brussels on June 22nd. Particular focus was placed on the World Day on 10 October and the draft UN resolution for a world moratorium on the death penalty.

European institutions have decided to press a resolution against the death penalty at the next General Assembly and to mark an official European Day against the Death Penalty on October 10th.

On October 10th, 2007, the World Day against the Death Penalty focussed on the proposed UN General Assembly resolution for a universal moratorium on executions. The proposal would save lives and give the population of retentionist states an opportunity to see for themselves that a pause in death sentences does not lead to higher crime rates.