President. − The next item is the debate on seven motions for resolutions on India, in particular the death sentence on Davinder Pal Singh(1).
Karima Delli, auteure. − Madame la Présidente, mes chers collègues, la peine de mort est la peine la plus cruelle, la plus inhumaine, la plus dégradante, qui constitue une violation du droit à la vie, tel que proclamé dans la Déclaration universelle des droits de l'homme.
Davinder Pal Singh risque d'être exécuté de manière imminente à New Delhi, en Inde, la présidente indienne ayant rejeté son recours en grâce au mois de mai, et il faut savoir que c'est le second recours rejeté au cours de ce mois.
C'est pourquoi cette résolution est un signe fort du Parlement européen. Le Parlement européen doit condamner toutes les exécutions, où qu'elles aient lieu. Le Parlement européen doit encourager l'Union européenne et ses États membres à garantir l'application de la résolution des Nations unies appelant à un moratoire universel sur les exécutions en vue d'une abolition totale dans tous les États qui pratiquent encore la peine capitale.
Je remercie l'ensemble de mes collègues qui ont contribué à cette résolution, et je terminerai juste en mentionnant que j'ai déposé deux amendements parce que je souhaite rappeler que Davinder Pal Singh avait demandé l'asile politique en Allemagne, mais qu'il a été renvoyé de force en Inde, où il a été arrêté dès son arrivée à l'aéroport de New Delhi en janvier 1995. Pourtant, deux ans plus tard, la Cour de Francfort a déclaré son expulsion illégale. Il n'aurait donc jamais dû être expulsé vers l'Inde où sa vie était menacée.
Et enfin, un faisceau d'indices indiquent que Davinder Pal Singh n'a pas eu droit à un procès équitable. Tel est l'objet du deuxième amendement qui sera mis aux voix. Je remercie mes collègues, et j'espère que l'ensemble de la résolution ainsi que ces deux amendements seront votés.
Cristian Dan Preda, Autor. − Un articol publicat în presa internaţională pe 13 iunie semnala faptul că statul indian Assam nu are niciun călău disponibil pentru a executa pedeapsa cu moartea la care a fost condamnat Mahendra Nath Das şi a cărui cerere de graţiere a fost respinsă de către preşedintele ţării. Un alt condamnat cu moartea, a cărui cerere de graţiere a fost respinsă, este Davinder Pal Singh. Ne-am dori ca un partener atât de important al Uniunii Europene, precum India, să respecte moratoriul solicitat de Adunarea Generală a Naţiunilor Unite şi să nu execute cele două persoane menţionate. Din fericire, aşa cum se ştie, India nu a mai aplicat pedeapsa cu moartea din 2007. Ne-am bucura însă ca, la fel ca Uniunea Europeană, India să considere abolirea pedepsei cu moartea ca un factor de întărire a demnităţii umane. Poate că faptul că nu se găseşte niciun doritor pentru a executa pedeapsa cu moartea e un semn al faptului că a venit momentul ca India să interzică această pedeapsă.
Charles Tannock, author. − Madam President, the ECR has no collective view on the death penalty for murder, leaving it to MEPs to decide individually according to their own conscience. India, as a democratic country, reserves the right to impose death sentences on those convicted of the most heinous capital crimes.
We in the ECR agree that the EU has a right to request clarification of the controversial circumstances of the arrest, police custody and apparent confession made by Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar, including the issue of his deportation from Germany and the fact the conviction was based on a majority decision, leaving some doubt as to whether the conviction is totally safe.
India is a democracy with an independent judiciary and by and large has an adequate appellate process. It is also important to note that Mr Singh Bhullar is allegedly linked to the Khalistan Liberation Force, which is committed to carving out an independent Sikh state in India by armed force. In the past its followers have allegedly committed many terrorist atrocities and assassinations of high-level political targets. The EU’s position on the death penalty is of course well known in India. However, we also need to understand the enormous internal security pressures facing India, not only from the Khalistan armed movement but from the Naxalite insurgency and more generally from Jihadi terrorism emulating from extremists in Pakistan.
Graham Watson, author. − Madam President, when speaking of the death penalty, two large countries normally spring to mind: China and the United States of America. Judicial executions are cruelly common in each, although thankfully increasingly uncommon elsewhere. In India, with whose people Europeans share many values, the Supreme Court ruled nearly 30 years ago that the death penalty should be imposed only in the rarest of rare cases; in fact it has been used only once in the past 15 years and that was seven years ago.
It is therefore deeply disturbing that decisions have been taken to execute the two convicts Davinder Pal Singh and Mahendra Nath Das, especially at a time when moves in the United Nations for a moratorium on the death penalty gain more support every year. It seems likely that both men’s alleged confessions were extracted under duress and therefore should not be relied on. Mr Pal Singh’s was made without access to a lawyer and was later retracted. Judicial execution, which is a cruel, inhumane and degrading penalty, allows no room for later access to justice should the convicted felons one day be found to be innocent.
This House therefore appeals to the people and the President of India, in the name of humanity and of our common commitment to human progress, to commute those sentences.
Lidia Joanna Geringer de Oedenberg, autorka. − Okoliczności, w których indyjski sąd uznał podejrzanego Davindera Pala Singha winnym za jego zbrodnie nie są dyskusyjne, gdyż uznajemy, że Indie są krajem demokratycznym, który przyznał oskarżonemu prawo do sprawiedliwego procesu. Problemem w dyskusji jest kwestia skazania go na karę śmierci, która od dawna jest przedmiotem sporów i dyskusji wśród krajów na całym świecie.
Kraje Unii Europejskiej zniosły karę śmierci, uznając ją za sprzeczną z wartościami uniwersalnych praw i godności człowieka. Unia nie ustaje też w dążeniu do powszechnego zniesienia kary śmierci zgodnie z rezolucjami przyjętymi przez Zgromadzenie Ogólne Narodów Zjednoczonych w grudniu 2007, 2008 i 2010 roku, które wyraźnie wzywają wszystkie państwa stosujące ciągle karę śmierci do podjęcia kroków w celu jej zaniechania.
W przypadku skazanego Davindera Pala Singha my, Europejczycy, możemy jedynie próbować apelować do Indii będących suwerennym i demokratycznym państwem oraz ważnym strategicznym partnerem Unii, aby powstrzymały się od wykonania wyroku śmierci na tym skazanym i na innych w przyszłości.
Bogusław Sonik, w imieniu grupy PPE. –Niespełna miesiąc Indie temu zgłosiły swoją kandydaturę do Rady Praw Człowieka w ONZ. Kraj ten wyraził zatem wolę przestrzegania norm w dziedzinie propagowania i ochrony praw człowieka. Niestety praktyki sądów indyjskich nie spełniają standardów ONZ-u. Pomimo tego, iż obowiązuje tam siedmioletnie moratorium na wykonywanie kary śmierci i nie dokonano żadnej egzekucji od 2004 roku, to w sądach wciąż zapadają wyroki skazujące na śmierć. Jak donosi sprawozdanie Amnesty International, w przeważającej większości wyroki te dotyczyły osób, które nie mogły zapewnić sobie odpowiedniej reprezentacji i obrony podczas procesów. Dlatego apeluję o przestrzeganie prawa do rzetelnego procesu. W obecnej sytuacji w Indiach kara śmierci powinna być zastąpiona karą dożywotniego więzienia. Władze i organy sądownicze jak najszybciej powinny wprowadzić odpowiednie reformy.
Prawa człowieka nie są dobrem luksusowym, ale dobrem powszechnym – bez względu na to, czy ktoś mieszka w Indiach, czy w innym rejonie świata.
Silvia-Adriana Ţicău, în numele grupului S&D. – În calitate de membru al Delegaţiei UE-India, subliniez că drepturile omului, democraţia şi securitatea sunt elemente esenţiale ale relaţiei dintre UE şi India. Reamintesc promisiunea Uniunii Europene şi a Indiei de a face progrese majore în vederea încheierii rapide a unui acord de liber schimb, cuprinzător şi echilibrat. Susţin includerea în acest acord a unor clauze obligatorii din punct de vedere juridic, referitoare la drepturile omului, care să cuprindă un mecanism de consultare elaborat după modelul articolului 96 al Acordului Cotonou. India s-a angajat să respecte cele mai înalte standarde de promovare şi de protecţie a drepturilor omului şi ne exprimăm îngrijorarea cu privire la faptul că guvernul indian ar putea recurge din nou la executarea pedepsei cu moartea după un moratoriu de facto de şapte ani. Invităm Guvernul şi Parlamentul din India să adopte un moratoriu permanent privind execuţiile în vederea abolirii pedepsei cu moartea în viitorul apropiat.
Kristiina Ojuland, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – Madam President, Professor Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar was extradited from Germany, in violation of the principle of non-refoulement, as he has been sentenced to death in India. Despite the fact that there have no executions in India since 2004, the Member States of the European Union must avoid at all costs returning refugees to places where their lives or freedoms could be threatened or they may be subjected to persecution.
I call on the Indian authorities not to carry out any death penalties and to work on upholding the moratorium. India is in a good position to set an example to that part of the world and abolish the death penalty. The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights and should not be used by any democratic coutnry. This cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment cannot be used in the name of justice.
Barbara Lochbihler, im Namen der Verts/ALE-Fraktion. – Frau Präsidentin! Die Todesstrafe ist eine besonders grausame und inhumane Strafe, die nicht abschreckt, sondern vielmehr zu einer weiteren Brutalisierung der Gesellschaft führt. Dies gilt ebenso für Davinder Pal Singh und Mahendra Nath Das in Indien, auch wenn die Straftaten im Einzelnen besonders verwerflich sind. Wir fordern daher die indische Regierung auf, diese Todesstrafen in Haftstrafen umzuwandeln.
Zu denken gibt uns aber auch die Vorgeschichte von Professor Singh, der in Deutschland um Asyl nachgefragt hat und abgelehnt wurde. Trotz öffentlicher Proteste in Deutschland, die vor einer möglichen Hinrichtung in Indien warnten, wurde er 1995 abgeschoben und gleich bei seiner Ankunft in Delhi verhaftet. Die deutschen Behörden haben sich leichtfertig darüber hinweggesetzt, dass es verboten ist, jemanden abzuschieben, wenn Folter und die Todesstrafe drohen. Dies war illegal. Das wurde auch von einem Frankfurter Gericht festgestellt.
Ein Appell deshalb an uns und die Entscheide in europäischen Behörden, den Menschenrechtsschutz auch ernst zu nehmen. Das gilt für die Abschiebepolitik genauso wie für die Rüstungsexportpolitik, die sich auch in Deutschland an der Menschenrechtslage vor Ort ausrichten sollte. Aber gerade jetzt hören wir wieder, dass dies eklatant mit Füßen getreten wird, wenn selbst nach Saudi-Arabien Rüstungsexportgüter wie Panzer ausgeführt werden sollen. Mit einer auch nur ansatzweise menschenrechtsorientierten Politik hat das in keiner Weise zu tun.
Sari Essayah (PPE). - Arvoisa puhemies, me EU:ssa vastustamme kategorisesti kuolemanrangaistusta riippumatta siitä, mihin rikoksiin syytetty on mahdollisesti syyllistynyt.
Niin kuin täällä on käynyt useassa puheenvuorossa ilmi, ovat Davinder Pal Singhin syytteet todella vakavia. Häntä syytetään terroriteosta, jossa vuonna 1993 Delhissä yhdeksän henkeä sai surmansa. Niinpä me haluamme tällä päätöslauselmalla kertoa sen, että emme todellakaan hyväksy näitä hänen tekojaan emmekä tue terrorismia, mutta me vetoamme kuolemanrangaistuksen lopettamisen puolesta Intiassa. Amnesty International on kuvaillut armahduspyyntöjen viimeaikaista hylkäämistä suurena takaiskuna Intian ihmisoikeustilanteelle.
Eija-Riitta Korhola (PPE). - Arvoisa puhemies, meidän on jälleen kerran korostettava Euroopan unionin pitkäaikaista sitoutumista kuolemantuomion vastustamiseen kaikissa tapauksissa ja olosuhteista riippumatta.
Näin ollen halusimme päätöslauselmassamme nostaa esiin Intian, joka on tuominnut kuolemaan kaksi ihmistä, Davinder Pal Singh Bhullarin ja Mahendra Nath Dasin. Vaikka molemmat ovat syyllistyneet vakaviin rikoksiin, emme me kuitenkaan voi hyväksyä heidän teloittamistaan. Intiassa ei ole pantu täytäntöön yhtään kuolemantuomiota sitten vuoden 2004. Kuitenkaan Intian presidentti Pratibha Patil ei ole myöntänyt kummallekaan tuomituista miehistä armahdusta toukokuun lopussa.
Meidän on vietävä viestiä eteenpäin, jotta Intia edelleen lykkäisi kuolemantuomioiden täytäntöönpanoja ja työskentelisi koko kuolemantuomion lakkauttamiseksi. Tämä on tärkeää, jotta ihmisoikeudet voisivat toteutua täysimääräisinä Intiassa.
Corina Creţu (S&D). - Discutăm acum un caz punctual: condamnarea la moarte a lui Davinder Pal Singh, cetăţean al Indiei, ţară în care mai există pedeapsa cu moartea. Principial, pedeapsa cu moartea nu este o opţiune în lumea noastră şi în sistemul nostru de valori. India a impus, de asemenea, un moratoriu în privinţa aplicării pedepsei cu moartea. A fost un gest important şi rostul acestei rezoluţii a Parlamentului European este să îndemne instituţiile statului indian să respecte moratoriul şi în acest caz, precum şi diversele rezoluţii ale ONU pe această temă. Consider că Uniunea Europeană are datoria de a continua sa-şi folosească întreaga influenţă pentru abolirea pedepsei capitale în întreaga lume.
Róża Gräfin von Thun und Hohenstein (PPE). - Madam President, frankly speaking, I was convinced that we in this House all agreed that the death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. I am most astonished by some of our colleagues since, in my mind, the death penalty must be opposed in all cases without exception, regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender or the method used by the state to kill the prisoner. That is the standard for which I am struggling, as, I hope, are many of us.
As a Member of the European Parliament, and also on behalf of Amnesty International Poland, together with many others here I call once again upon the Government of India not to carry out the execution of Davinder Pal Singh. He should immediately be retried in proceedings that are in compliance with international standards on fair trials, without recourse to the death penalty.
Ryszard Czarnecki (ECR). - Oczywiście możemy mówić o Indiach, o kraju, w którym od siedmiu lat kara śmierci nie jest wykonywana. Możemy też mówić o karze śmierci jako takiej i zbierać brawa. Ale może jednak uderzmy się we własne piersi. Zastanówmy się nad odpowiedzialnością jednego z krajów członkowskich Unii Europejskiej, które wydaje uchodźcę na prawdopodobną, czy pewną śmierć. I wydaje mi się, że może mówienie o tym jest niepopularne, ale może jednak zróbmy europejski rachunek sumienia. Czy tak należy robić?
Charles Tannock (ECR) (replying to Róża Gräfin von Thun und Hohenstein under Rule 149(8) (blue-card questions)) . – Madam President, a reference was made to my speech in which I said the ECR Group has no collective view on the death penalty for murder. That is a statement of fact. We always have a free vote in my group for these matters. I would like to make the point that Parliament is supposed to reflect the views of the population we represent and, whether you like it or not, a very large number of citizens of the European Union still agree with the death penalty for the most heinous capital crimes. I am afraid that is a fact, so I think it is perfectly reasonable that some Members do believe in the death penalty for murder.
Róża Gräfin von Thun und Hohenstein (PPE). - Madam President, of course we listen carefully to our electorate and are in constant dialogue with them, but we also help to find the honest and proper way. We represent here the highest values and ‘thou shalt not kill’.
(Applause)
Maria Damanaki, Member of the Commission. − Madam President, we all share the deep concern of the European Parliament about the possibility that India may soon break its de facto moratorium, in place since 2004, on the application of the death penalty in the cases of Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar, and Mahendra Nath Das.
Vice-President/High Representative Ashton has been in regular correspondence with a number of Members of the European Parliament regarding the death penalty in India, and she is well aware of the circumstances surrounding this case, which has been discussed with the Indian authorities in the past in the context of the death penalty issue.
The Vice-President/High Representative wrote to India’s Home Minister Chidambaram on 1 June, immediately after President Patil rejected the mercy petitions of Mr Bhullar and Mr Das. In that letter, she made a humanitarian appeal on their behalf, as well as regarding Mr Surinder Kohli, who has also appealed for mercy to the President after his death warrant was issued in early May. She urged Minister Chidambaram to commute their sentences to life imprisonment.
The EU is opposed to the death penalty under all circumstances, regardless of the crimes committed. This is absolutely clear. The EU’s view is that capital punishment does not serve as an effective deterrent to criminal behaviour, whereas its abolition contributes to the enhancement of human dignity and the progressive development of human rights.
The Vice-President/High Representative pleaded for India to join the global moratorium that the EU aims to establish, in line with the global trend towards the abolition of the death penalty. At present, last minute appeals on health grounds are being considered by the courts, in both cases.
We hope that the strong domestic and international pressure currently being exerted on the Indian authorities will result in the executions not taking place, and in the moratorium being preserved. We stand ready to consider further urgent action in case the executions become imminent, and will continue to keep the European Parliament and its Members informed of further developments. I thank you all for your interest and for your support in this common cause.