23 November 2012
NZ must protest latest executions in Afghanistan
The New Zealand Government should protest the recent use of the death penalty in Afghanistan, the Green Party said
today.
14 prisoners have been executed in Afghanistan in the past two days. Executions have been rare since the fall of the
Taliban in 2001. All the executions were signed off by President Hamid Karzai.
“Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman should seek formal assurances from Afghan authorities that no prisoners handed over
by New Zealand’s Defence Forces will suffer the death penalty,” Green Party global affairs spokesperson Dr Kennedy
Graham said today.
“New Zealand is a country greatly opposed to the death penalty.
“New Zealand soldiers should therefore not be placed in a position that they may be forced to hand over prisoners that
could then face the death penalty.
“The resumption of the use of the death penalty by the Karzai regime is yet another reason why it is time to bring our
soldiers back from Afghanistan now,” Dr Graham said.