Mobilizations against the Death Penalty in seven ACV cities to call for an end to this "cruel and inhuman" punishment

On Sunday, seven Basque municipalities joined theInternational Day "Cities for Life" againstthe Death Penalty  convened by Amnistia International, which will illuminate the city's well-known buildings against this "cruel and inhuman punishment".

In Vitoria-Gasteiz, where the City Hall will be lit in red , the concentrationhas taken place  from 13:00 to 14:30 in the Plaza de los Celedones de Oro, where, accompanied by the txalaparta, signatures have been collected and this year's campaign manifesto has been read. 

In Bilbao, the Yhon Palace of La Vieja will be lit from 18:00 to 20:30. At noon,the manifesto  and the performance against the death penalty  have been read.

In Donostia-San Sebastián, activists from Amnesty International have concentrated at 12:00 in front of the City Hall in Alderdi-Ederand then taken the message against the death penalty to the stands of the Church of Santa Maria, the Plaza de la Constitución and the Plaza de Gipuzkoa.

There have also been mobilizations in Portugalete, Santurtzi, Barakaldo and Leioa. in Portugalete will light Pando Aizia; in Santurtzi, the Tower House, Barakaldo, the Clock Tower and in Leioa, the façade of the Sakoneta sports centre.

Amnesty International spokeswoman Itziar Medrano has recalled in Vitoria-Gasteiz that, although in Spain "fortunately, there is no death penalty", in some countries "people are killed for anything." "Iran is one of them," she said, "but China and the United States are not left behind; China, above all," Medrano has denounced.

In 2024,  was the highest number of executions in the last decade, according to the Global Report of Amnesty International. At least 1,518 people were executed in 15 countries, which "without knowing the data of thousands of people who were able to kill in China, Vietnam and North Korea, whose numbers  are still a secret state in those territories," Medrano warns.

   
Amnesty International has pointed out that, fortunately, 144 countries have now abolished the death penalty in their legislation or practice, that is, more than two-thirds of the world's countries.
   
"The death penalty violates the right to life proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and constitutes a cruel and inhuman punishment," Medrano added. Finally, it calls on governments around the world to take the necessary steps to completely suspend executions and abolish the death penalty worldwide.