Brussels, 26/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - The execution by hanging of four men in Benin prison (south Nigeria) on Tuesday 25 June aroused the outcry and disapproval of High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton on Wednesday 26 June. She calls on the Nigerian authorities to refrain from any further executions.
“I deeply regret the execution of four prisoners yesterday in Edo State, Nigeria. This represents a break of a 7-year moratorium on the death penalty and is a most regrettable setback to Nigeria's human rights record. It goes against the commitment repeatedly made by the Nigerian authorities, most recently at the EU-Nigeria human rights dialogue held in Abuja in March and at the annual ministerial meeting in Brussels in May 2013, to maintain the de facto moratorium on executions”, Ashton said on behalf of the EU. While recognising “the serious nature of the crimes involved” by the four men executed, Ashton reiterates that “executions can never be justified” and urges “the Nigerian authorities to refrain from further executions”. With the death penalty being the only punishment for some crimes in Nigeria, Ashton strongly encourages “Nigeria to amend its legislation” and “to join the strong abolitionist trend which prevails on the African continent”. (AN/transl.fl)