MALDIVE: UN RIGHTS OFFICE CONDEMNS DEATH PENALTY REVIVAL

April 30, 2014: the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva voiced concern over moves to revive the death penalty in the Maldives, including for minors, after a six-decade freeze on capital punishment.
"We are deeply concerned about a new regulation adopted in the Maldives on implementation of the death penalty, which effectively overturns a 60-year moratorium on the use of capital punishment in the country," said Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. "We urge the government to retain its moratorium on the use of the death penalty in all circumstances, particularly in cases that involve juvenile offenders and to work towards abolishing the practice altogether," she said. (Sources: AFP, 30/04/2014)