the Pakistani Government has not forwarded a formal proposal for commuting all death sentences into life imprisonment terms to President Pervez Musharraf, despite an announcement by the Prime Minister nearly a month ago, the country's Attorney General said. Attorney General Malik Qayyum said:

two Kurdish activists were condemned to death in a closed court hearing in the Iranian city of Sanandaj.

the Argentine Congress eliminated the Military Code of Justice, thereby eliminating a special jurisdiction dating back to the 19th century, as well as burying the last vestige of the death penalty and ending punishment for homosexuality.

US President George W Bush approved the death penalty for a soldier of Pvt. Ronald A. Gray, convicted by court-martial of two homicides and three rapes at Fort Bragg, N.C. in 1986-87.

Iran hanged two prisoners, identified as Yaser K., 22, and Mahmoud, 33, in the prison yard in the central city of Isfahan.

Iran hanged 29 people at dawn after they had been convicted of murder, drug trafficking and other crimes, state run television reported.

regarding the 29 executions in Iran, Sergio D’Elia, Hands Off Cain Secretary, stated: “The executions today in Iran further prove the danger posed by Ahmadinejad. Many acknowledge and attempt to prevent the future threats to peace and world security represented by the Mullah’s regime. However, it seems that few acknowledge and prevent the daily threats practiced for decades by the Iranian regime against its own people.

the Washington Post reported on the case of Badr al-Hasnani, who was 18 when he got into a fight with a soccer rival and fatally stabbed him, in a discussion on the soaring cost of blood money in Saudi Arabia.

children's and consumer rights associations called for a Milan fun fair to remove its new simulation of a prisoner being executed by electric chair.

“It’s a demented and culturally devastating attraction, which undoes years of work on the part of those struggling against the death penalty.”

Romano Prodi, the ex-President of the Council of the Italian Government, was presented with “The Abolitionist of the Year 2008” Award by Hands Off Cain. The award recognises the person who, above all others, demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to the struggle for a moratorium on executions and the abolition of the death penalty.

during the ceremony for the “Abolitionist of the Year 2008” Award, Hands Off Cain presented its 2008 Report on the Death Penalty Worldwide.