CROATIA. REPRESENTATIVES OF HANDS OFF CAIN AND OF THE TRANSNATIONAL RADICAL PARTY VISIT THE COUNTRY'S PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC

March 4, 2005: the President of Croatia Stjepan Mesic gave his approval to the initiatives presented by Hands Off Cain and the Transnational Radical Party, engaged in bringing about a universal moratorium on executions, and gave his support to efforts for the obtainment of a United Nations backed resolution for the universal abolition of capital punishment.
According to Hands Off Cain data, out of a total of 191 UN member states, 60 still retain the death penalty. In 2003, 29 states put the penalty into practice executing 5,600 people between them. Ninety nine percent of executions took place in totalitarian regimes such as China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Cuba. Democratic states such as the US and Japan are responsible for 1% of the total number of global executions.
The Croatian Predident's councillor for Foreign Affairs, Tomislav Jakic, spoke with Elisabetta Zamparutti, representing Hands Off Cain, and Marina Szikora, Croatian representative of the Transnational Radical Party. The meeting focused on the possibility of the President of the Republic of Croatia discussing the country's judicial system and the fact that the death penalty had been abolished in Croatia even in times of war when meeting with heads of state from other countries. (Sources: HOC, 4/03/2005;)