Brussels, 25/02/2013 (Agence Europe) -EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton has condemned the execution in Japan on 21 February of Masahiro Kanagawa, Keiki Kano and Kaoru Kobayashi. On Friday 22 February, she repeated her call to Japan to develop a framework for holding a thorough public debate on the abolition of the death penalty. Although the EU acknowledges the seriousness of the crimes committed by the three who were executed, Ashton said that she did not think that the sorrow of the family and friends of the victims would be mitigated by these executions. She also pointed out that the EU was opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances and for all cases.
Masahiro Kanagawa, 29 years old, was found guilty of murdering eight people, Kaoru Kobayashi, 44, was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering a young girl and Keiki Kano, 62, was sentenced to death for strangling a 61-year-old woman. (CG/transl.fl)