Brussels, 27/07/2021 (Agence Europe) – The EU welcomed on the evening of Monday 26 July the commitment of Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio and the unanimous vote of the Sierra Leonean Parliament on 23 July in favour of abolishing the death penalty. The law has yet to be signed into law by the President. The death penalty will be replaced by life imprisonment or a minimum sentence of 30 years. The last executions were in 1998. “The death penalty is a cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment, and no compelling evidence exists to show that it serves as a deterrent to crime, while any miscarriages of justice are irreversible”, the European External Action Service spokeswoman said in a statement. The EU will continue to work for its abolition in the few countries that still apply it, she promised. (CG)