28/07/2023 (Agence Europe) – Deploring the execution of five people in Kuwait, including one for drug-related offences, on Thursday 27 July the spokesperson for the European External Action Service (EEAS) noted “with concern” the increasing use of capital punishment in the country. This follows on from the executions that took place last November. At least seven people have been executed, prompting the EEAS to summon the Kuwaiti ambassador (see EUROPE 13065/17). “As a matter of principle, the European Union strongly opposes the death penalty at all times and in all circumstances”, the spokesperson reiterated, stressing that it was an “inhumane punishment, which has been proven ineffective as a deterrent to crime”. He warned that the EU would continue to work towards the abolition of the death penalty in the few countries that still apply it. (CG)