“Put an end to death penalty cruelty: abolish the death penalty”
Throughout the years, the World Day Against the Death Penalty has increased its reach and has become a focal point for global campaigning against capital punishment. Since 2003, every year on 10 October, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (WCADP) calls upon abolitionist NGOs, networks, activists and institutions to mobilize and raise awareness on the use of the death penalty around the world. Amnesty International is a founding member of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and leads the campaign which aims to see a worldwide end to the practice of the death penalty.
The slogan for World Day against Death Penalty 2018 is: “Put an end to death penalty cruelty: abolish the death penalty”. Marking the occasion, activists and supporters of Amnesty International Nepal today staged a peaceful demonstration outside the Japanese Embassy in Panipokhari, Kathmandu, urging the Government of Japan to annul the death penalty to Matsumoto Kenji. Following this, Chairperson Bikram Dhukuchu and Director Nirajan Thapaliya handed over a memorandum to Takashi Miyata, Head of Political Affairs at the Embassy of Japan, asking the Government of Japan to put an end to the practice of death penalty and commute the death sentences of all prisoners on the death row.
Background of Matsumoto Kenji:
Matsumoto Kenji has been facing the death penalty since 1993. While on death row, he has been detained in cruel conditions which include solitary confinement and without knowing when his final day would be. During this time, Matsumoto Kenji developed a delusional disorder which, together with his intellectual disability, has made it difficult for him to communicate with others. Imposing the death penalty on people with mental or intellectual disabilities violates international law and standards. Furthermore, Matsumoto Kenji’s seventh request for a retrial, submitted on 16 June 2016, was denied in March 2017. The case of Matsumoto Kenji is emblematic of a much wider failure by the Japanese authorities to take into account the mental and intellectual disabilities of those facing execution in Japan, or the conditions under which those on death row are held.