News Service Nr. 140

Rights denied: Europeans on death row in the USA

The institutions and member states of the European Union should

intervene in support of European nationals under sentence of death in the United States of America, Amnesty International said today.

In a new report entitled Worlds Apart, the organization details the

cases of 10 European citizens on death row in the USA. European countries

whose nationals are currently on death row include Estonia, France, the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Germany, Poland, Spain and the United

Kingdom.

"In clear breach of international law, none of these people were

informed upon arrest of their right to consular assistance," Amnesty

International said. "In many of these cases, timely consular intervention

could have meant the difference between life and death."

"The widespread - and ongoing - failure of US authorities to respect the

rights of detained foreign nationals threatens to undermine the

international rule of law," the organization added.

The cases documented in the report raise a host of issues illustrating

the inherent flaws in the application of the death penalty in the USA.

"Post-conviction evidence of unfair trials, official misconduct and

unresolved claims of factual innocence are all symptoms of judicial

procedures that fall unacceptably short of minimum international human

rights standards," Amnesty International said.

"Other governments -- including those whose nationals are on death row in the USA -- must put pressure on the US authorities to conform to basic

principles of justice agreed to by the international community," the

organization added.

The report is the latest in a series of Amnesty International documents

establishing the failure of the United States to honour its treaty

obligations in death penalty cases. More than 80 foreign citizens

representing nearly 30 nationalities currently await execution in the

USA. In virtually every case, arresting authorities breached the

provisions of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by failing to

promptly inform detainees of their consular rights.

In response to the executions of two German nationals in Arizona in 999,

Germany has brought a case against the USA before the International Court of Justice, which has compulsory jurisdiction over violations of the

Vienna Convention.

Worlds Apart also describes the cases of three individuals on death row

who may have dual nationality because of their birth in a European

country and includes comprehensive recommendations to defend the rights of all foreign nationals sentenced to death, including urging

interventions by Council of Europe members in support of Germany's case at the International Court of Justice.

"The cases of death-sentenced Europeans are a microcosm of a hopelessly flawed death penalty process, which must be halted immediately," Amnesty International said. "By continuing to condone this brutal and arbitrary punishment, the USA is truly worlds apart from the human rights values endorsed by the international community of nations."

Background

The report summarizes the international reaction to recent executions of

foreign nationals in the United States. Last October, the Inter-American

Court on Human Rights decreed that the right to consular notification and

assistance is a fundamental element in the protection of due process, the violation of which requires remedies and renders any such executions illegal. The opinion, requested by the Mexican

government, followed the execution of two Mexican nationals

who were not informed after arrest of their right to seek

consular assistance.

In 1998, for the 1st time in European history, none of the then 40

members states of the Council of Europe carried out an execution.

Amnesty International is opposed to the death penalty in all

circumstances, and continues to work towards a global ban on the

imposition and execution of death sentences. Until such time, all

governments must do everything in their power to ensure that

international minimum standards are met in states where this, the

ultimate form of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, is still

permitted by law.

television note----- Larry King Live: tonight, will host a death

row interview 1-800-676-2100 CNN 9pm Eastern time

(check your local listing)