‘The persistent advocacy of the death penalty as a cornerstone punishment, upon which rests the power of law and the subsequent use of such a postulate to force through the reinstatement of the death penalty in Poland is harmful to the development of the moral and legal culture of the country’ states the Helsinki Committee in Poland. (18-AUG-06)



                                                                   STATEMENT

The Helsinki Committee in Poland feels a duty to again speak out regarding the campaign being run by certain politicians to reinstate the death penalty.

The persistent advocacy of the death penalty as a cornerstone punishment, upon which rests the power of law and the subsequent use of such a postulate to force through the reinstatement of the death penalty in Poland is harmful to the development of the moral and legal culture of the country.

By referendum, the citizens of Poland accepted the Union’s “acquis communautaire”, which includes the unconditional abolition of the death penalty. It includes Protocol No. 6 to the European Convention on Human Rights abolishing the death penalty, which was ratified by Poland in 2000.

Arguing that we currently need such a punishment reinforces the false stereotype of Poland as a country where the authorities cannot deal with serious crime and thus want to turn to penalties that violate human rights.

Poland had previously eschewed the death penalty without any external pressure or suggestions. Article 38 of Poland’s 1997 constitution provides “The Republic of Poland shall assure each person the legal protection of life.” Implementation of the death penalty would be a clear breach of this constitutional provision.

We do not intend to repeat familiar and frequently-stated arguments against the death penalty, which highlight its immorality as well as ineffectiveness in actually improving general safety and security. We do, however, appeal to those concerned to not treat a matter as serious as the death penalty as a ploy to win support during electoral campaigns; respect for human life and care for Poland’s image as a European country would equally impress voters.

Warsaw, 16 August 2006

On behalf of the Helsinki Committee in Poland:
Halina Bortnowska-D¹browska, Teresa Bogucka, Marek Edelman, Janusz Grzelak, Zbigniew Ho³da, Jacek Kurczewski, Wojciech Maziarski, Micha³ Nawrocki, Marek Antoni Nowicki, Danuta Przywara and Andrzej Rzepliñski



Marek Antoni Nowicki