Cruel & unusual punishment in the Middle East
Jerusalem PostAug 28, 2018
In its first execution in five years, Kuwait on Wednesday hanged seven individuals, including four Kuwaitis, a Pakistani, a Syrian, and an Ethiopian. Two of the seven were women.
The state-run KUNA news agency said all seven had been convicted of premeditated murder, though the oil-rich nation has received condemnation from both rights and governmental organizations.
The Middle East is rampant with not only public executions but executions for non-violent crimes like drug trafficking, homosexuality, adultery, and religious heresy — a tool used to infuse fear among the public and silence dissent. The international community has a duty to oppose these human rights violations by calling for the total abolishment of the death penalty.
While the West should continue to condemn the misuse of capital punishment in non-Western states, it shouldn't resort to blackmail as the EU has done with its threats to Kuwait's visa bid. International law allows capital punishment in certain instances, and Kuwait has sparingly used it for the most severe crimes.