HRW welcomes the withdrawal of the death penalty for certain crimes in Malaysia and calls for its complete abolition

12 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has welcomed the decision of the Malaysian Parliament, which approved on April 3 a series of amendments to abolish the mandatory nature of the death penalty for certain crimes, which maintains a moratorium on executions since 2018 .

In a statement, the organization has described the decision as “an important step in alignment with international Human Rights norms”, although it has affirmed that it is important that the death penalty be abolished in its entirety.

HRW Asia director Elaine Pearson has said Malaysian lawmakers should build on this momentum to advocate for abolition: “The next step for Malaysia should be to end the use of this punishment altogether, and to reverse the convictions of 1,300 prisoners he has on death row.”

“Malaysia has an opportunity to strengthen its leadership in the region by eliminating state-sanctioned executions and upholding people’s rights to life and to be free from torture,” he added, referring to other countries in the region that still resist abolishing the death penalty, such as China, Vietnam, Burma or North Korea.

Malaysia has maintained a moratorium on executions since 2018, when authorities vowed to abolish the death penalty. However, the Malaysian government backed down a year later under political pressure, saying it would retain the death penalty for certain crimes.