THE PROCESS OF ABOLISHING THE DEATH PENALTY IN MEMBER STATES OF THE ORGANISATION OF ISLAMIC COOPERATION THE PROCESS “No value can ever justify putting the value of human life into perspective so far as to eliminate it legally” – Abdou Diouf, former President of the Republic of Senegal, former General Secretary of the International Organisation of OF ABOLISHING La Francophonie. “Even though the death penalty has been applied throughout the world and throughout the ages, murders continue to occur. The death penalty has not THE DEATH PENALTY acted as a deterrent” – Liew Vui Keong, former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Law of Malaysia. IN MEMBER STATES “Imposing the death penalty is of no benefit to justice” – Thomas Boni Yayi, former President of the Republic of Benin and former President of the African Union. OF THE ORGANISATION 149 States worldwide have now abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. The issue of the death penalty in the OIC member States clashes OF ISLAMIC with the belief that it would be impossible for an Islamic State to abolish this punishment. However, certain religious leaders agree that there is no consensus in schools of Quranic interpretation on the absolute necessity of enforcing COOPERATION the death penalty, and several Muslim-majority states have already abolished capital punishment in law. IN MEMBER STATES OF THE ORGANISATION ISLAMIC COOPERATION Of the 57 OIC member States, 19 have abolished the death penalty for all crimes or ordinary crimes, 14 have a moratorium on it and 24 are retentionist States. Most of the Islamic world has abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. Abolition is possible and this study proves it with detailed examples of States that have achieved it. It provides a better understanding of the NAEL GEORGES processes leading to abolition. This publication is based on interviews and research conducted by ECPM and Nael Georges. It is a valuable tool to help all OIC member States to work towards abolishing the death penalty and discrediting popular misconceptions. Co-funded ECPM by the European Union 62 bis, avenue Parmentier 75011 Paris www.ecpm.org THE PROCESS OF ABOLISHING DEATH PENALTY © ECPM, 2020 Price: 20 euros ISBN: 978-2-491354-14-5 This document was produced with the financial support of the EU Delegation to Morocco, the AFD, the Government of Switzerland and the Government of Norway. The content of this document is the sole responsibility of the authors and should in no way be considered to reflect the position of the EU, the AFD, nor the above-mentioned Governments. THE PROCESS OF ABOLISHING THE DEATH PENALTY IN MEMBER STATES OF THE ORGANISATION OF ISLAMIC COOPERATION THE PROCESS Publication director: OF ABOLISHING Raphaël Chenuil-Hazan Coordinator: Julia Bourbon Fernandez THE DEATH PENALTY Author: Nael Georges IN MEMBER STATES Copy editors: Emmanuel Maistre, Alain Morvan, Nicolas Perron, Mathilde Millier Sub-editor: OF THE ORGANISATION Caroline Izoret-About Translation: Atenao OF ISLAMIC Layout: Olivier Déchaud COOPERATION Printed by: Imprim’ad hoc Co-funded NAEL GEORGES by the European Union ECPM 62 bis, avenue Parmentier 75011 Paris www.ecpm.org © ECPM, 2020 ISBN: 978-2-491354-14-5 List of abbreviations Glossary ACAT Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture Apostasy • Renunciation of a religion AU African Union Caliph • Religious and civil leader in a Muslim country CAT Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman Sharia • Islamic law or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Quran • Allah’s word for Muslims and the main source of Islamic law CI-HRC Côte d’Ivoire Human Rights Commission Quranism • Islamic belief that Sharia should only be based on the Quran CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child Corruption on Earth • Accusation of violating the most fundamental principles DHRL Djiboutian Human Rights League of Islam ECHR European Convention on Human Rights Dar-al-Harb • Territories outside Dar al-Islam where “infidels” rule ECPM Together against the Death Penalty Dar-al-Islam • Islamic country with an Islamic Government and where Sharia EU European Union prevails FIACAT International Federation of Action by Christians for the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Abolition of Torture Rights (OP2) • The only international treaty aiming to abolish the death FIDH International Federation for Human Rights penalty by ending executions and providing the means to maintain the ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights abolition IHR Iran Human Rights Dhimmi communities • Legal status of Christians and Jews in Dar al-Islam IOF International Organisation of La Francophonie living under Islamic rule IOP International Observatory of Prisons Dhimmi • A non-Muslim in a Dhimmi community NGO Non-Governmental Organisation Diya • Compensation paid to the family of a murder victim by the guilty party NHRC National Human Rights Commission Fatwa • Legal opinion or religious decision given by an expert or religious body NHRI National Human Rights Institution to answer a specific question that the Quran does not explicitly answer OIC Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Hadith • Word or action by Islamic prophets OPCAT Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Hirabah • Crime related to “corruption on Earth” Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Hudud • Legal punishments under Islamic law OSCE Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Ijmā • Consensus of Islamic scholars of the same generation on a point of OP2 Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant Islamic law on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition Ijtihad • Exertion in interpreting Islamic law of the death penalty Qiyas • The deduction of legal prescriptions from Sharia to apply to a new SHRC Senegal Human Rights Committee case UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights Abolitionist countries for all crimes • States or territories whose laws do not UN United Nations impose the death penalty for any crime UNGA United Nations General Assembly Abolitionist countries for ordinary crimes • States or territories that only UPR Universal Periodic Review impose the death penalty in exceptional circumstances USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Abolitionist countries in practice • States or territories which retain the death penalty but have not executed anyone in the past 10 years and do not oppose the most recent United Nations resolution in favour of a moratorium on executions and/or have ratified the OP2 Retentionist countries • States or territories which retain the death penalty Qisas • Law of retaliation Sunna • Body of sayings, traditions and practices of the Prophet Muhammad and sometimes his companions Ummah • Community of Islamic believers, in other words, the nation as a religious community THE PROCESS OF ABOLISHING THE DEATH PENALTY ECPM 4 IN MEMBER STATES OF THE ORGANISATION OF ISLAMIC COOPERATION 2020 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS • Foreword 9 Part II - Case studies: abolitionist OIC member states 53 • Preface 11 • Mozambique 56 • Guinea-Bissau 57 Methodology 19 • Djibouti 58 • Azerbaijan 60 Introduction 21 • Turkmenistan 61 • Côte d’Ivoire 64 • Turkey 67 Part I - The OIC and the death penalty 25 • Senegal 71 • Albania 75 • The OIC and the death penalty 27 • Kyrgyzstan 78 • Presentation of the OIC 27 • Uzbekistan 79 • Kazakhstan 80 • International and regional commitments by OIC member States 33 • Togo 8 1 • OIC states and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) 36 • Gabon 85 • Position of abolitionist OIC member States with regard • Benin 86 to the vote of the moratorium resolution 37 • Suriname 89 • OIC documents pertaining to human rights 38 • Guinea 90 • Burkina Faso 91 • The definition of an Islamic State 40 • Chad 96 • Criteria according to the OIC 41 • Criteria put forward by Islamic law specialists 42 Conclusion 101 • Sources of Islamic law and the death penalty 44 • Bibliography 105 • Sources of Islamic law 44 • Appendix 111 • The death penalty in Sharia sources 45 • List of people/institutions questioned 111 • Map of OIC member States and their status 112 • Modern interpretation of Islam and abolition • Provisions of applicable international law 114 of the death penalty 48 • Humanist reading of Islamic law sources 48 • Islam and secularism 50 THE PROCESS OF ABOLISHING THE DEATH PENALTY ECPM 6 IN MEMBER STATES OF THE ORGANISATION OF ISLAMIC COOPERATION 2020 7 FOREWORD Most monotheistic religions, primarily Judaism then Christianity (excluding some evangelical churches), have a very clear stance against the death penalty. That certainly hasn’t always been the case in the past. But opinions change. Nowadays, there’s no denying that the idea of capital punishment as an instrument for justice has been very firmly rejected as “Neither divine, nor human”, particularly by the Catholic Church (since the “Vatican II” reform then with Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis). Pope Francis made the cause a key part of his vision for the Church’s doctrine on social justice and set several countries on the path towards abolition. The Islamic world is in a slightly different, yet contradictory, situation on this issue. When we talk about the death penalty worldwide, we automatically think of countries such as Saudi Arabia (a country famous for execution methods that are often said to be “medieval”: public beheading with a sword, crucifix- ion, flagellation). Other countries that come to mind are Iran (the most reported executions per inhabitant), Egypt (countless political prisoners sentenced to death), Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan (where executions were reinstated in 2016 to combat terrorism yet the death penalty is actually mainly imposed for other crimes or accusations of blasphemy). The reality we’re all aware of stops us seeing another equally meaningful and illustrative reality of the Islamic world that many don’t want to see: most of the Islamic world has abolished the death penalty in law or fact! In other words, countries with Muslim cultures are on the path to universal abolition just like the rest of the world.