EU opposes death penalty

The European Union has again called on Bangladesh to stay all pending executions, and establish a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, as a first step towards its abolition.

The statement was issued yesterday in Brussels in the wake of the Supreme Court upholding the death sentence against war criminal Jamaat leader Mohammad Kamaruzzaman.

The EU statement reads, “We are closely following judicial proceedings in Bangladesh. The European Union reiterates its strong and absolute opposition to capital punishment in all cases and under all circumstances.”

Meanwhile, new EU head of delegation in Dhaka Pierre Mayaudon Wednesday told reporters that the EU was not taking sides with the war criminals in Bangladesh by issuing statements against death penalty.