TNAG-2284-FCO40-3285-Capital-punishment-in-Hong-Kong-1991 — Page 57

Date:

To:

amnesty international

IRISH SECTION

Sean MacBride House, 8 Shaw Street, Dublin 2, Ireland. Telephone: 776361 Fax: 776392 Telex: 500-90428-AIE!

Fax No./Code:

International Phone/Fax Code: +353 1 From UK: 0001

FACSIMILE MESSAGE

25th June 1991

His Excellency the Prime Minister, John Major

Via British Embassy, Dublin 2838423

No. of Pages:

1 (including this sheet)

Subject:

PROPOSAL TO RESUME EXECUTIONS IN HONG KONG

Dear Sir

On behalf of the Irish Section of Amnesty International, I would like to express my concern at the proposal to resume executions in Hong Kong.

We believe that the death penalty is the ultimate form of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and that it violates the right to life. We also believe the extensive evidence that it is not an effective deterrent to crime. The resumption of executions in trend towards the Hong Kong would be contrary to the worldwide abolition of capital punishment, both in practice and in law.

Within the South-East Asian region, the Philippines abolished the death penalty in 1987 and Japan has not carried out executions since 1989. Here in Ireland where, like Hong Kong, the death penalty remained on the statute books for several decades but was The Irish not practised, it was totally abolished in 1990. parliament thus vindicated the belief that successive Irish governments' practice of commuting all death sentences since 1954 did not cause an increase in serious crime. Your own parliament has also repeatedly reaffirmed its opposition to the reintroduction of the death penalty.

We urge you to ask the Hong Kong Legislative Council to continue commuting death sentences and work towards the complete removal of the death penalty from your statute books.

Yours sincerely

Jim Loughran

Jim Loughran CHAIRPERSON

Amnesty International is an independent worldwide movement working Impartially for the release of all prisoners of conscience, fair and prompt trials for political prisoners and an end to torture and executions. It is funded by donations from its members and supporters throughout the world.

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