World Day Against the Death Penalty: How long will it take before Bangladesh also drops the death penalty?

Lesedi Molapisi, a Botswanan national, was convicted in a narcotics case for drug smuggling and sentenced to death by a court in Dhaka on May 27 this year.

Two years ago, she was arrested at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport after being found in possession of 3,145 kilos of heroin.

For international rights organizations, this death sentence for a non-violent crime demonstrated a blatant disregard for international law and norms.

These groups, including Amnesty International, bluntly urged the government to abolish the death penalty and commute Molapisi’s sentence.

“Hang by his neck until he’s dead.”

The death penalty is a legal form of punishment in Bangladesh for anyone over the age of 16.

Crimes currently punishable by death in Bangladesh are enshrined in the Penal Code 1860.

These include waging war against the state, incitement to mutiny, murder, assisting the suicide of a child and attempted murder of a child.

The Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 provides that a person sentenced to death “shall be hanged by the neck until dead”.

However, Bangladesh is prohibited from using the death penalty for drug-related crimes.

The International Narcotics Control Board has also noted that the use of the death penalty for drug-related crimes is contrary to UN drug treaties and a violation of international human rights law.

“We urge the Bangladeshi authorities to take swift steps to revoke the death penalty for these crimes, pending the complete abolition of this cruel punishment,” Amnesty said in its statement.

An appeal has been filed against Molapisi’s death sentence decision.

She is one of more than two thousand cases of people on death row in Bangladesh.

In January 2024, the imposition of the death penalty was challenged in the Supreme Court as contrary to the Constitution and international law. Then in May, the Supreme Court ruled that the solitary confinement of death row inmates who have not yet exhausted their legal appeals was unconstitutional, and ordered that all such prisoners be transferred to general prison populations within two years.

The world community clearly supports steps towards the abolition of the death penalty and Bangladesh should follow the global trend in that direction, starting by declaring a moratorium on executions.

Time to declare a moratorium

Capital punishment, also known as capital punishment and previously called judicial murder, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or perceived wrongdoing. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in such a manner is known as a death sentence, and the execution of the sentence is known as an execution. An inmate sentenced to death and awaiting execution is sentenced and commonly referred to as “on death row.”

The term capital refers to execution by decapitation, but executions are carried out in many ways, including hanging, shooting, lethal injection, stoning, electrocution, and gassing.

As in many Commonwealth countries, the death penalty found its way into the constitution after the War of Liberation.

There are currently 33 crimes punishable by death. In the eyes of international law, these crimes are not fatal and not the most serious.

Should Bangladesh declare a moratorium, it could put an end to the death penalty phenomenon, allowing the interim government, led by Chief Advisor Prof. Yunus, to review death row inmates and give them a chance at a fair trial.

JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF), in a statement issued today, appealed to the government and stated: “While justice and accountability are essential, the death penalty is neither a deterrent to crime nor a path to real justice… , the underprivileged and those who do not have access to proper legal representation.”

From 2013 to 2023, Bangladesh carried out at least 30 executions, mainly in cases of murder, terrorism and war crimes related to the 1971 Liberation War.

Lawyer Shahanur Islam, founder and president of JMBF, said: “Abolishing the death penalty sends a clear message that justice should protect human dignity, not take human lives.”

A moratorium will guarantee the right to life and dispel myths about its effectiveness by guaranteeing other methods of fighting crime.

The death penalty is incompatible with human rights and human dignity, because the death penalty does not protect anyone.

‘The death penalty protects no one’

World Day Against the Death Penalty (October 10) is a day to advocate for the abolition of the death penalty and to raise awareness of the conditions and circumstances that affect prisoners under the death penalty. It was first organized by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty in 2003.

The day is supported by many NGOs and world governments, including Amnesty International, the European Union and the United Nations. The Council of Europe also declared October 10 as European Day against the Death Penalty.

The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty is an international alliance of NGOs, bar associations, local governments and trade unions that aims to strengthen the international dimension of political opposition to the death penalty.

Previous themes have included prisoner living conditions, poverty, terrorism, drug crimes and mental health.

This year’s theme – “The Death Penalty Protects No One” – is dedicated to combating the misconception that the death penalty makes people and communities safer.

The top three countries in terms of number of executions are China, Iran and Saudi Arabia. As of 2021, 56 countries maintain the death penalty, 111 countries have completely abolished the death penalty de jure for all crimes, seven have abolished the death penalty for common crimes, and 24 countries are abolitionist in practice.

Although the majority of countries have abolished the death penalty, more than half of the world’s population lives in countries where the death penalty still applies, including our own country, neighboring India, the US, Indonesia, Pakistan, Japan, Vietnam, Egypt, Nigeria , Ethiopia and DR Congo.

Time to debunk the myth that it will reduce crime rates

The death penalty is believed to be a violation of human rights, the right to life and the right to live free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. People, organizations and religious groups have different views on whether it is ethically permissible.

Every year, on October 10, people around the world come together to raise awareness of the death penalty and call for its abolition in every country.

This year, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and other members of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty are challenging the misconception that the death penalty can make people and communities safer.

One of the most persistent myths surrounding the death penalty is that it can act as a deterrent, perpetuating the false idea that individuals will refrain from committing a crime if faced with the death penalty.

To date, there have been no credible studies linking the death penalty to reducing crime rates.

In fact, studies suggest that the death penalty for rape could reduce the number of reports of this heinous crime.

This World Day examines why the death penalty is maintained despite evidence showing its ineffectiveness in the fight against violence and crime.

Governments around the world are often called upon to create such narratives to influence public opinion and create fear to control the state and justify repressive policies.

The death penalty protects no one and does not make societies safer.