World Day Against the Death Penalty: How long till Bangladesh too drops the capital punishment?

Lesedi Molapisi, a Botswana national, was convicted in a narcotics case filed over drug smuggling and sentenced to death by a Dhaka court on 27 May, this year.

Two years ago, she had been arrested at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport after being found in possession of 3.145 kilograms of heroin.

To international rights groups, this death sentence for a non-violent crime demonstrated a blatant disregard of international law and standards.

These groups, including Amnesty International, outright urged the government to abolish the death penalty as well as commute Molapisi's sentence.

'Be hanged by the neck until he is dead'

Capital punishment in Bangladesh is a legal form of punishment for anyone who is over 16.

Crimes that are currently punishable by death in Bangladesh are set out in the Penal Code 1860.

These include waging war against the state, abetting mutiny, murder, assisted suicide of a child, and attempted murder of a child.

The Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 provides that a person awarded the death penalty "be hanged by the neck until he is dead."

Bangladesh, however, is prohibited from using the death penalty for drug related offences.

The International Narcotics Control Board has also noted that the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences is in breach of the UN Drug Conventions and a violation of international human rights law.

"We urge the authorities of Bangladesh to take swift steps to repeal the death penalty for these offences, pending full abolition of this cruel punishment," Amnesty said in its statement.

An appeal of the for Molapisi's death sentence decision has been filed.

She is one of over 2,000 cases people are known to be on death row in Bangladesh.

In January 2024, the imposition of the death penalty was challenged before the Supreme Court as being contrary to the Constitution and international law. Then in May, the High Court found the solitary confinement of death row prisoners who are yet to exhaust their legal appeals to be unconstitutional, ordering that all such prisoners must be moved to general prison populations within two years.

The global community is in clear support of steps towards the abolition of the death penalty and Bangladesh should follow the global trend towards, starting by declaring a moratorium on executions.

Time to declare a moratorium

Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in such a manner is known as a death sentence, and the act of carrying out the sentence is known as an execution. A prisoner who has been sentenced to death and awaits execution is condemned and is commonly referred to as being "on death row".

The term capital refers to execution by beheading, but executions are carried out by many methods, including hanging, shooting, lethal injection, stoning, electrocution, and gassing.

Like many Commonwealth countries, the death penalty found its way into the constitution after the Liberation War.

There are currently 33 crimes punishable by death, among them are non-lethal and not the most serious, in the eyes of international law.

Should Bangladesh declare a moratorium, it can end the death penalty phenomenon entirely, allowing the interim government, led by Chief Adviser Prof Yunus, to review death row convicts and give them a chance for fair trials.

JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF), in a statement issued today, has called upon the government, stating, "While justice and accountability are essential, capital punishment is neither a deterrent to crime nor a path to true justice…It disproportionately affects the marginalised, the underprivileged, and those who lack access to proper legal representation."

From 2013 to 2023, Bangladesh carried out at least 30 executions, mostly in cases involving murder, terrorism, and war crimes related to the 1971 Liberation War.

Advocate Shahanur Islam, founder president of JMBF, said, "Abolishing the death penalty sends a clear message that justice should protect human dignity, not take human life."

A moratorium will guarantee the right to life and remove the myths of its effectiveness by ensuring other methods of combating crime.

Capital punishment is incompatible with human rights and human dignity for indeed the death penalty protects no one.

'The death penalty protects no one'

Day World Against the Death Penalty (10 October) is a day to advocate for the abolition of the death penalty and to raise awareness of the conditions and the circumstances which affect prisoners with death sentences. It was first organised by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty in 2003.

The day is supported by numerous NGOs and world governments, including Amnesty International, the European Union and the United Nations. The Council of Europe also declared 10 October to be the European Day Against the Death Penalty.

The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty is an international alliance of NGOs, bar associations, local governments and trade unions that aims to strengthen the international dimension of political opposition to capital punishment.

Previous themes included inmates' living conditions, poverty, terrorism, drug crimes and mental health.

This year's theme – "The death penalty protects no one" – is dedicated to challenging the misconception that the death penalty makes people and communities safer.

The top three countries by the number of executions are China, Iran and Saudi Arabia. As of 2021, 56 countries retain capital punishment, 111 countries have completely abolished it de jure for all crimes, seven have abolished it for ordinary crimes, and 24 are abolitionist in practice.

Although the majority of countries have abolished capital punishment, over half of the world's population live in countries where the death penalty is retained, including our very own country, neighbouring India, the US, Indonesia, Pakistan, Japan, Vietnam, Egypt, Nigeria, Ethiopia and DR Congo.

Time to debunk the myth that it curbs crime rates

Capital punishment is believed to breach human rights, the right to life and the right to live free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. People, organisations, and religious groups hold differing views on whether it is ethically permissible.

Every year, on 10 October, people around the world come together to raise awareness around the death penalty and to call for its abolition in every country.

This year, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and other members of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty are challenging the misconception that the death penalty can make people and communities safer.

One of the most persistent myths surrounding the death penalty is that it can have a deterrent effect, perpetuating the false idea that individuals will refrain from committing a criminal act should they face capital punishment.

No credible studies, till date, could link capital punishment and reduced crime rates.

Studies actually suggest that the death penalty for rape could reduce the rate of reporting this heinous crime.

This World Day explores why capital punishment is maintained despite evidence showing its inefficacy in combating violence and crime.

Governments around the world often get called out on creating such narratives to influence public opinion and create fear to control the state and justify repressive policies.

The death penalty protects no one and does not make societies safer.