28 Hongkongers executed on mainland in just over a decade, says Amnesty
Human rights group says fate of 19 others sentenced to death is unknown
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 27 March, 2014, 5:51pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 27 March, 2014, 8:49pm
Samuel Chan [email protected]
Mabel Au Mei-po, director of Amnesty International Hong Kong, says the mainland is moving slowly towards the eventual abolishment of the death penalty. Photo: Dustin Shum
Twenty-eight Hongkongers have been executed on the mainland since 2003 while the status of 19 others who were also sentenced to death remains unknown, Amnesty International Hong Kong said today.
The human rights group, which has long campaigned for a worldwide abolishment of the death sentence, gathered its information from local and mainland media reports during the period. The group also said another 28 Hongkongers were given a suspended death sentence.
Most of the Hongkongers who were sentenced to death on the mainland were found guilty of drug trafficking, murder, smuggling or tax evasion, Amnesty said.
Another five Hongkongers were sentenced to death in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Because of the Chinese government’s low transparency and the lack of credible figures, it was hard to say how much the numbers reflect the actual situation on the mainland, said the group’s Hong Kong director Mabel Au Mei-po at a press conference today.
She said the mainland was moving slowly towards the eventual abolishment of the death penalty, which was indicated by the removal of 13 offences from the total 68 punishable by death in the areas of smuggling of certain items or financial crimes in 2011.
The group urged those whose family members were sentenced to death in the mainland or overseas to seek help. The group’s involvement in the past had proved positive, Au said, citing an example of a Hongkonger, sentenced to death in Malaysia, who was granted access to a doctor and meeting with Chinese consulate staff after Amnesty’s intervention.
“Don’t expect mercy will be shown if you [families of death row inmates] keep silent as what we saw in the past was the exact opposite,” said Father Franco Mella, a spokesman for the group’s joint committee for the abolition of the death penalty.
