DEATH PENALTY IN NIGERIA AND SAUDI ARABIA

Early day motion 2328, tabled 22 October 2008 by Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat). Signed by 45 members.

That this House welcomes the two Amnesty International reports entitled, Waiting for the Hangman and Affront to Justice; notes with concern that over 700 people are currently under sentence of death in Nigeria's prisons; is concerned to hear reports of evidence indicating Nigerians cannot rely on their criminal justice system to produce results that are either fair or accurate; further notes that executions in Saudi Arabia have risen sharply in the last two years, with a fourfold increase from 2006; further notes with concern that death sentences in Saudi Arabia are often imposed at the end of largely secret and unfair trial processes with many defendants being executed for non-violent or vaguely worded offences; and calls on both the Saudi Arabian and Nigerian governments to impose a moratorium on executions, as called for by the UN General Assembly in December 2007.

Signatures by party: Labour 20, Liberal Democrat 17, Independent 3, Social Democratic and Labour Party 2, Conservative 1, Plaid Cymru 1, Scottish National Party 1.