Doslovný zápis z rozpráv

Štvrtok, 16. februára 2017 - Štrasburg

3.2. Popravy v Kuvajte a Bahrajne

  Πρόεδρος. – Το επόμενο σημείο στην ημερήσια διάταξη αφορά τη συζήτηση σχετικά με τις εκτελέσεις στο Κουβέιτ και στο Μπαχρέιν (2017/2564(RSP))

  Cristian Dan Preda, auteur. – Monsieur le Président, le groupe PPE condamne fermement les récentes exécutions à Bahreïn et au Koweït ainsi que le fait que ces deux pays ont mis fin au moratoire sur la peine de mort mis en place il y a de nombreuses années. Même s’il s’agit de crimes graves, le recours à la peine de mort est inacceptable.

En même temps, je regrette le fait que le débat au sein du Parlement sur cette question essentielle ne soit pas basé sur la défense des valeurs de l’Union et des droits de l’homme, mais sur la solidarité envers certains pays ou régimes.

La gauche plurielle, y compris les cinque stelle et autres suivistes, imposent à l’ordre du jour uniquement les exécutions dans les régimes dirigés par des sunnites. Leurs amis chiites doivent, en quelque sorte, être protégés. Or, cela est inacceptable! En Iran, il y a plus d’exécutions que dans tous les pays dont la gauche nous oblige à parler.

J’appelle donc mes collègues des autres groupes politiques à ne pas négliger ces cas plus alarmants et à discuter ensemble de ces graves violations des principes fondamentaux dans tous les régimes, chiites comme sunnites.

(L’orateur accepte de répondre à une question «carton bleu» (article 162, paragraphe 8, du règlement))

  Fabio Massimo Castaldo (EFDD), Domanda "cartellino blu". – Caro collega, io ho sentito una cosa che veramente non so se sia un errore di traduzione o quant'altro. Lei ha detto che noi sosteniamo la pena di morte nei regimi sciiti? Il Movimento 5 Stelle? Se lei mi trova un solo atto, in tanti anni di lavoro in Parlamento, in cui noi abbiamo sostenuto la pena di morte nei regimi sciiti, io veramente alzo le mani. Spero che sia stato solamente un errore di traduzione. Lo richiarisco: il Movimento 5 Stelle è contrario alla pena di morte ovunque nel mondo.

  Cristian Dan Preda, auteur, réponse «carton bleu». – Monsieur Castaldo, vous devez être content, vous avez les applaudissements de Mme Vergiat. Le problème, c’est qu’à chaque fois que nous discutons des urgences, seul le groupe PPE propose de discuter des exécutions perpétrées dans cette grande région du monde tant par des régimes chiites que sunnites. Nous sommes les seuls!

À chaque fois que les autres groupes politiques proposent des urgences, c’est uniquement à partir de la perspective iranienne. Ils sont un peu orientés en fonction des volontés de Téhéran et non de nos valeurs fondamentales.

  Πρόεδρος. – Ως Πρόεδρος, οφείλω να επισημάνω ένα πρόβλημα, το οποίο που έχει τεθεί από συναδέλφους προερχόμενους από ένα ευρύτατο πολιτικό φάσμα και νομίζω ότι πρέπει να επικεντρωθούμε σε αυτό και να μην μετατρέπουμε την εύλογη καταδίκη του Κουβέιτ και του Μπαχρέιν για τις εκτελέσεις σε ζήτημα μικροκομματικής αντιπαράθεσης.

  Mark Demesmaeker, Auteur. – Nog geen acht maanden geleden veroordeelden wij hier de politieke arrestaties in Bahrein. Een jaar geleden stelden wij de folterpraktijken in het land aan de kaak. Tevergeefs, de mensenrechtensituatie gaat er niet op vooruit. Integendeel, het regime draait de duimschroeven aan, maakt het leven van mensenrechtenactivisten en oppositie zo goed als onmogelijk.

Vandaag staan we hier opnieuw. Deze keer betreuren we 3 doden. Het zijn de eerste executies in Bahrein sinds 2010 na een omstreden proces en we vrezen dat er nog meer aankomen. Ik wil het volgende duidelijk maken aan de Bahreinse autoriteiten. We veroordelen altijd en overal blind geweld, moord en terrorisme. Maar, ongeacht de zwaarte van de misdrijven, de leeftijd van de daders, het verloop van de rechtsgang, voor dit Parlement is het recht op leven een basismensenrecht waar niet aan te tornen valt. Ik denk aan de woorden van Catherine Ashton: “The death penalty can neither reverse the crime it seeks to punish nor mitigate a victim's loss. It should be a relic of the past." Helaas, de doodstraf is in Bahrein geen reliek, maar opnieuw enge realiteit anno 2017.

Tot slot wil ik alle Europese instellingen en lidstaten aansporen om in hun betrekkingen met Bahrein het belang van de fundamentele mensenrechten te benadrukken.

PRZEWODNICTWO: RYSZARD CZARNECKI
Wiceprzewodniczący

  Marietje Schaake, author. – Mr President, we are deeply disturbed by the executions in Bahrain and Kuwait in January. The EU is against the death penalty, no matter in which country it is performed, no matter for what crime; 160 UN member states have abolished the death penalty or do not practise it, and that list should grow. In Kuwait on 25 January 25 people were executed, 5 of them were actually foreign citizens and there are serious concerns about whether they had a fair trial under the current system in Kuwait. But in Bahrain on 15 January three people were executed by a firing squad, and we are well aware of the lack of fair trial standards as well as allegations of forced confessions under torture, which adds to the concern that we already have about the death penalty, also regarding the circumstances in these cases. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the UN said it was appalled, and shares our concern about the lack of a fair trial. We ask the Kuwaiti and Bahraini authorities to become the leaders that they can be in the Middle East and adopt a moratorium on the death penalty. We particularly call on His Majesty Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain to halt the executions of two prisoners on death row, Mohammed Ramadan and Hussein Moussa. We call on both the Kuwaiti and Bahraini authorities to invite the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and inhumane treatment, and to grant him full access to detention facilities to investigate the circumstances.

There is an urgent need in both these countries for upholding human rights and respecting them, including fair trial standards, and in Bahrain we see specifically that revoking citizenship puts people in a terrible situation; this is illegal and it must stop. We have also called urgently and repeatedly for the recommendations of the BiCi report to be implemented, and we repeat this call again today.

  Soraya Post, författare. – Herr talman! Naturligtvis så fördömer också den socialdemokratiska gruppen de här dödsstraffen.

EU har tydliga riktlinjer. Vi förespråkar ett avskaffande av dödsstraffet i linje med internationell rätt och EU:s stadga om de grundläggande rättigheterna. I artikel 2 i stadgan står ”Var och en har rätt till liv. Ingen får dömas till döden eller avrättas.”.

Därför är det högst oroväckande att både Kuwait och Bahrain nu återupptagit avrättning av medborgare efter ett längre uppehåll. Detta är oacceptabelt. Rätten till liv är grundläggande. Inte ens Internationella brottmålsdomstolen, som behandlar brott mot mänskligheten och folkmord, får utdela detta straff för förövare.

I det fall vi nu får rapporter om från Kuwait och Bahrain uppfylls inte rättsprocessens minimikrav. Människor döms till döden efter summariska rättegångar och efter erkännanden under tortyr.

Rätten till liv är det grundläggande för en stat att beskydda. Här ser vi vikten av att parlamentet tar ännu tydligare ställning och inför ett ännu tydligare proaktivt arbete för att uppfylla målsättningen om ett universellt avskaffande av dödsstraffet.

  Marie-Christine Vergiat, auteure. – Monsieur le Président, les exécutions, le 15 janvier dernier, de Ali Al-Singace, Abbas Al-Samea et Sami Mushaima sont un triste symbole. Ils ont été exécutés une semaine après leur condamnation, prononcée sur la base d’aveux dont il fait peu de doutes qu’ils ont été extorqués sous la torture.

Ali, Abbas et Sami sont les premières personnes à être exécutées depuis 2010. Les premières à l’être pour motifs politiques depuis 1996. Cela justifie amplement notre résolution, qui s’appuie sur les déclarations de l’ONU.

Il est peut-être encore temps de sauver Mohammed Ramadan et Hussein Moussa, condamnés à mort dans les mêmes conditions.

Nous pouvons aussi nous inquiéter de la reprise des exécutions au Koweït, où sept personnes, presque toutes étrangères, dont trois femmes, viennent d’être pendues alors qu’il n’y avait pas eu d’exécution dans ce pays depuis 2013. Dans les deux pays, la torture est malheureusement monnaie courante, tout comme la déchéance de nationalité.

Il faudrait aussi dénoncer la situation des Bidounes, littéralement des sans-droits apatrides particulièrement discriminés, ou encore celle des travailleurs migrants.

Je regrette le «deux poids, deux mesures» pratiqué par certains groupes politiques, comme nous venons de le voir dans le précédent débat, et M. Preda vient de nous faire une triste caricature.

(L’oratrice accepte de répondre à une question «carton bleu» (article 162, paragraphe 8, du règlement))

  Tomáš Zdechovský (PPE), otázka položená zvednutím modré karty. – Já bych měl, paní Vergiatová, na Vás otázku. Vy jste hovořila o vynucených doznáních a zmanipulovaných procesech. Můžete uvést konkrétní zdroje Vašich tvrzení? Můžete uvést také, kolik vlastně bylo v Bahrajnu vykonaných poprav? Jak třeba bahrajnský režim pokročil v otázce lidských práv? Je tam nějaká pozitivní progrese?

  Marie-Christine Vergiat (GUE/NGL), réponse «carton bleu». – C’est bien de me poser une question, mais c’est mieux de m’écouter avant de m’en poser une.

J’ai effectivement dit que ce qui nous inquiétait dans la situation du Bahreïn et qui justifiait notre résolution, c’est le fait qu’il y avait eu un moratoire et que les exécutions avaient repris. Cela me paraît clair.

Par ailleurs, comme le dit notre résolution – si vous l’avez lue –, les soupçons de torture reposent sur les déclarations des ONG, et les plus grandes d’entre elles. Ces soupçons ont été repris par l’ONU, et il me semble que c’est une source fiable.

  Alyn Smith, author. – Mr President, we have had good joint working across this resolution. I do regret that the ECR was not able to be part of the compromise, eventually, but we did work hard to get a decent text before the House. It is right that where Member States have allies and have interests, the European Union is a community based on values and as a collective we can exploit and voice our values and it is right that we remain vocal within that discussion. The EU, acting as a collective, can achieve more than our individual Member States – my own in particular has not entirely clean hands in this discussion – but as a collective we can be true to our values and it is right that we should speak truth to our friends.

In Bahrain and Kuwait there is a sense that they are somehow singled out unfairly for criticism, on a regular basis. It is barely eight months since our last resolution on Bahrain as well, but that is because, actually, it is a compliment. There is scope for a dialogue, there is scope for a discussion with those two countries, and there is scope for progress which we can support within those countries with our expertise.

I would refer particularly to paragraph 9 of the resolution: the resolution calls on the Bahraini Government to fully implement the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry. Progress and reform is absolutely vital and we will continue to support that progress.

  Fabio Massimo Castaldo, autore. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, Ali Al-Singace, Abbas al-Samea e Sami Mushaima, domenica 15 gennaio, alle prime luci dell'alba, hanno ricevuto quattro pallottole in petto, poco meno di una settimana dopo che la Corte di Cassazione aveva confermato le loro condanne a morte per l'uccisione di due poliziotti nel 2014.

Si tratta delle prime esecuzioni dal 2010 in Bahrein. Sono stati torturati fino a confessare. Non sono stati informati neanche dell'esecuzione, così come i loro familiari che non hanno nemmeno potuto assistere alle cerimonie funebri. Esattamente dieci giorni dopo in Kuwait sono stati impiccati sette prigionieri, anche qui le prime esecuzioni in quattro anni, e un processo equo è una chimera. Crudele, inumana, incapace di deterrenza, crimine irreversibile: questa è la pena di morte ovunque nel mondo!

Altri due uomini adesso rischiano in Bahrein di essere trucidati dal sistema, dallo Stato, nei prossimi giorni, se non ci sarà un perdono reale che noi invochiamo per mettere fine a questa pratica atroce e anacronistica. I valori e i principi selettivi e secondo interessi commerciali appartengono ad altri partiti e gruppi politici di quest'Aula. Per il Movimento 5 Stelle non si raggiungerà mai la giustizia uccidendo un essere umano, né in Bahrein, né in Kuwait, né in nessuna parte del mondo, Iran compreso.

  Tomáš Zdechovský, za skupinu PPE. – Pane předsedající, vždycky když se narodí člověk, je to dobrá zpráva od Boha, že jsme ho ještě nepřestali bavit. A proto je mi vždycky líto, když dojde k tomu, že je někomu násilně život odebrán. A ještě více mi je to líto, když je odebrán od někoho, kdo je považován za partnera Evropské unie.

V případě Bahrajnu už tady máme třetí rezoluci, která se týká naléhavých případů, a tak, jak zmínil Cristian Preda, je bohužel politováníhodné, že nevěnujeme pozornost také dalším zemím. Nikdy tady na evropské úrovni jsme neprobírali naléhavé rezoluce u případů občanů Íránu. Málo se věnujeme případům poprav třeba v Bělorusku a v dalších zemích. A myslím si, že to je pro nás, pro politiky, velikánská výzva k tomu, abychom tuto situace změnili. Já osobně říkám za PPE: je neakceptovatelné jakékoliv odejmutí života člověku. Život jsme člověku nedali, nemáme právo mu ho vzít.

  Ana Gomes, em nome do Grupo S&D. – Nesta resolução, condenamos vigorosamente as recentes execuções no Koweit e no Barém, países onde a justiça não tem credibilidade.

Em Manama, a forma como a polícia tem enfrentado os protestos dos últimos dias pelo aniversário da revolta de 2011, mostra que a situação de direitos humanos se tem agravado, com crescentes violações, incluindo execuções sumárias e tortura.

É fundamental que as autoridades do Barém parem as execuções de Mohammed Ramadan e Hussain Ali Moosa, a quem foi negado um processo justo, e se comprometam imediatamente com a abolição da pena de morte, que parem a repressão e restaurem a liberdade de ação do partido da oposição al-Wefaq, que libertem os presos políticos e ativistas de direitos humanos como Nabeel Rajab e que restituam a cidadania a Sheikh Issa Ahmad Qassim e outros dissidentes, a quem foi, ilegal e arbitrariamente, revogada.

Para a própria segurança e estabilidade do Barém, será vital que as autoridades se empenhem, finalmente, no diálogo para uma reconciliação. Isso, obviamente, implica a participação dos representantes da população maioritária xiita.

  Udo Voigt (NI). – Herr Präsident! Ich will mich auf die Vorfälle in Bahrain konzentrieren, wegen der Besonderheit, dass dort ein sunnitisches Herrscherhaus auf die mehrheitlich schiitische Bevölkerung Druck ausüben will.

Diese drei Männer aus Bahrain sind zum Tode verurteilt worden für eine Tat, die sie mit hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit nicht begangen haben. Es liegt nahe, dass diese Maßnahme die mehrheitlich schiitische Bevölkerung einschüchtern sollte. Die Angeklagten wurden im Februar 2015 zum Tode verurteilt, legten dagegen jedoch Berufung ein und begründeten diese damit, dass ihre Geständnisse unter Folter erzwungen worden waren. Die Berufung wurde kurz vor der offiziellen Erschießung der Männer verworfen. Als im Zuge des inszenierten Arabischen Frühlings auch Unruhen in Bahrain ausbrachen, wurde die Gelegenheit vom sunnitischen Herrscherhaus genutzt, um die schiitische Bevölkerung zu dezimieren. Als dann drei Jahre später eine Bombe drei Polizisten tötete, wurden erneut Schiiten dafür verantwortlich gemacht und drei Verdächtige innerhalb kurzer Zeit und trotz ziemlich dünner Beweislage festgesetzt.

Es werden seit der gezielten Destabilisierung der Länder in Nordafrika und im Nahen Osten religiöse oder ethnische Konflikte ausgetragen, die hätten verhindert werden können, wenn man nicht auch von EU-Seite die US-Außenpolitik vor Ort unterstützt hätte.

  Tunne Kelam (PPE). – Mr President, in Europe we are against capital punishment in principle, but let us not forget it is up to every sovereign state to decide about this. Kuwait and Bahrain decided to have a moratorium on executions for the past 6 years, and this is something encouraging. Now they have resumed executions, of ten people, on an exceptional basis. This is very much deplorable, but my problem is that this debate is somewhat out of the context of urgency because at the same time, we know that during this year in Iran ten times more people have been executed. Where are our urgent motions for resolutions [about that]? And so I am afraid that, in neglecting Iran and bashing Kuwait and Bahrain – Bahrain is very good in providing religious freedom and tolerance – we are in a way introducing double standards, so the PPE Group has decided to abstain from this vote.

  Julie Ward (S&D). – Mr President, I would like to express many thanks to all those who work to raise human rights issues in this House. This is not the first time that we have spoken about the situation in Bahrain, sadly, and our message must be clear. The death penalty is always wrong, and even more so when young men are tortured into confession and then executed. All of us here must be clear that Muhammad Ramadan and Hussein Moussa must not be executed, and that the death penalty must be abolished in Bahrain, as elsewhere, including Iran.

Upholding human rights and democracy makes a country stronger, not weaker. If Bahrain wants to present itself as a beacon of progress in the Middle East, then its Government must conduct itself accordingly. Instead of putting Nabeel Rajab through yet another hearing on 21 February, release him and all other political prisoners. All EU Member States, and especially the UK, must put human rights first and insist that these rights are upheld, instead of trading in arms.

Zgłoszenia z sali

  José Inácio Faria (PPE). – Senhor Presidente, Senhora Comissária, Caros Colegas, as execuções de três homens, de confissão xiita, foram as primeiras levados a cabo no Barém, desde julho de 2010. No Koweit, onde, neste preciso momento, 50 pessoas estão no corredor da morte, a execução de sete prisioneiros constituíram as primeiras penas de morte desde 2013 e esta pena continua a ser aplicável mesmo em caso de ofensas não violentas, incluindo o tráfico de droga, em flagrante violação do Direito Internacional.

Estas condenações, cruéis e desumanas, representam um grave retrocesso em matéria de direitos humanos e, infelizmente, refletem uma tendência de crescente recurso à pena de morte e de levantamento das moratórias no golfo árabe, colocando em perigo a já frágil estabilidade da região.

Caros Colegas, o meu país, Portugal, foi das primeiras nações no mundo inteiro a abolir a prática abjeta da pena de morte, decisão essa que muito me orgulha e, na altura, o próprio Vítor Hugo referiu que Portugal dava um exemplo à Europa. Espero que hoje, a Europa, especialmente este Parlamento em pleno século XXI, seja também um exemplo para o resto do mundo, condenando veementemente estas penas, apelando à comutação das penas dos restantes condenados e reiterando o seu compromisso com a abolição universal da pena de morte em todo o mundo, onde se inclui, também, o Irão.

  Nicola Caputo (S&D). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, l'Europa deve ribadire il suo ruolo guida nella lotta per l'abolizione della pena di morte e per una moratoria sulle esecuzioni in tutto il mondo. Purtroppo negli ultimi anni abbiamo assistito ad una recrudescenza delle esecuzioni in molti paesi, anche dov'era in vigore una moratoria.

In Medio Oriente assistiamo a una vera e propria ondata di esecuzioni capitali. In Kuwait, dopo quattro anni di moratoria, sono stati impiccati 7 dei 57 condannati che si trovano attualmente nel braccio della morte. All'inizio di gennaio, il Bahrein ha interrotto una moratoria che durava da sei anni, eseguendo le condanne di tre persone, tutte legate ad ambienti dell'opposizione politica.

Bisogna raccogliere l'appello del Santo Padre e abolire la pena di morte, legale o illegale che sia e in tutte le sue forme. Molto resta da fare. È stata abolita la schiavitù. Bisogna abolire la pena di morte ovunque, bisogna liberare il mondo da questa pena crudele e inumana.

  Νότης Μαριάς (ECR). – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, η κατάσταση των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων και του κράτους δικαίου στο Μπαχρέιν και στο Κουβέιτ είναι ιδιαίτερα ανησυχητική. Και οι δύο χώρες προέβησαν τον Ιανουάριο στην άρση του μορατόριουμ για τις εκτελέσεις θανατικών ποινών. Οι αρχές του Μπαχρέιν, για πρώτη φορά από το 2008, εκτέλεσαν τρεις Σιίτες Μουσουλμάνους. Στις πληροφορίες που έρχονται στο φως, γίνεται λόγος και για βασανιστήρια, για να αποσπάσουν οι αρχές του Μπαχρέιν ομολογίες. Στο Κουβέιτ εκτελέστηκαν 7 άτομα στις 25 Ιανουαρίου. Πρόκειται για τις πρώτες εκτελέσεις που έγιναν στο Εμιράτο από το 2013. Τα γεγονότα αυτά αποδεικνύουν ότι οι εκτελέσεις πολιτών αυξάνονται σε όλη τη Μέση Ανατολή. Οι θανατικές καταδίκες, τα βασανιστήρια και κάθε μορφή σκληρής και απάνθρωπης ταπεινωτικής μεταχείρισης και τιμωρίας απαγορεύονται από τις διεθνείς και ευρωπαϊκές συνθήκες, απαγορεύονται παντού στον κόσμο, είτε σε Σιιτικά, είτε σε Σουνιτικά μουσουλμανικά κράτη. Η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση πρέπει να στείλει ένα μήνυμα: η καταπάτηση των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων δεν μπορεί να γίνει ανεκτή.

  Ignazio Corrao (EFDD). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, le autorità del Bahrein e del Kuwait hanno riesumato la pena di morte, aprendo il 2017 con rispettivamente 3 e 7 esecuzioni. Peraltro, in questi casi non vi sono solo state le esecuzioni, che già di per sé rappresentano una delle pratiche più barbare esistenti, ma sono state anche constatate diverse altre violazioni. I processi sono risultati sommari, gli imputati hanno accusato le forze di polizia di torture e maltrattamenti. Il ritorno alla pena di morte, inoltre, ha scatenato il malcontento popolare, creando instabilità nei paesi.

Ora io voglio dire una cosa. Ascoltando gli interventi dei colleghi Preda, del collega Kram, a me sembra assurdo che, parlando di diritti umani, ancora stiamo a discutere su giustificazioni, ci mettete l’Iran, non ci mettete l’Iran. Ma è logico che lo stesso tipo di pratiche, le stesse violazioni valgono in maniera uguale in qualsiasi parte del mondo. Siete voi che continuate a portare avanti la logica dei due pesi e due misure, che se lo fa uno Stato amico è una carezza, se lo fa uno Stato ostile è una violazione gravissima dei diritti umani. In questa ossessione che avete nel cercare di ricomprendere l'Iran in qualcosa che non c'entra – anche le altre violazioni in Iran è ovvio che sono violazioni che vanno condannate in maniera uguale – vi confermate dai seguaci di Trump, che criticate tanto. Avete la stessa ossessione.

(Koniec zgłoszeń z sali)

  Cecilia Malmström, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, I would like to thank the honourable Members for raising these cases of recent executions in Bahrain and in Kuwait. As you know, and all of you said, the European Union has a strong principled position on the death penalty and it is always worth reaffirming this, in particular in cases where countries have not implemented the death penalty for some time, thus giving rise to the hope that a de facto moratorium will be applied.

On 15 January 2017, the Bahraini authorities carried out the execution of three people who were convicted of a bomb attack against the police which killed three policemen, including an Emirati officer. As we stressed in the statement made by the spokesman for the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, this case was particularly disappointing as it represented a serious step back, given that Bahrain had suspended executions for seven years.

In addition, civil-society organisations have voiced concerns about possible violation of the right to a fair trial and due process for the three convicted, and an allegation of torture during the investigations. Most of all, we are concerned that this case might result in a resumption of executions in Bahrain. We are following, in particular, the cases of Mohammed Ramadan and Hussein Moussa, which bear strong similarities with the case of those recently executed.

On 25 January 2017 the Kuwaiti authorities executed seven people – four men and three women convicted for different criminal offences. This is the first execution in Kuwait since 2013. The External Action Service also issued a public statement on this case expressing our wish to see Kuwait returning to its previous de facto moratorium.

Although recognising the serious nature of the crimes involved, we thought it was useful, because it always is, to reiterate the EU’s opposition to the use of the death penalty in all circumstances, without exception. The use of the death penalty represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity and, contrary to what some people argue, experience worldwide has demonstrated that it also fails to act as a deterrent to crime. In addition, it makes any miscarriage of justice – and those can happen in any legal system – irreversible.

We look forward to continuing to engage with you and we will continue to do our utmost to ensure that this issue will be raised with the relevant authorities in Bahrain and Kuwait, as in any other country which applies the death penalty – because, of course, there are still many.

We are aware that the fact of the death penalty is recognised in the legal systems of these countries but we know that authorities in other countries in similar situations have developed a pragmatic approach and have started to apply a moratorium. That is what we constantly encourage countries such as Bahrain and Kuwait to do. We will continue also, through the work with like-minded partners, with civil society and in various multilateral forums, to promote a global moratorium on the death penalty. We will be looking forward to working with you on this.

  Przewodniczący. – Otrzymałem siedem projektów rezolucji złożonych zgodnie z art. 135 Regulaminu.

Zamykam debatę.

Głosowanie odbędzie się w czwartek 16 lutego 2016 r.