Sierra Leone abolishes ‘dastardly’ death penalty
13 October 2021 |
6:25 am
Sierra Leone's President, Julius Maada Bio, announces the abolition of the death penalty during a ceremony in Freetown after lawmakers approved the bill to abolish the capital punishment in July. Sierra Leone, which is still recovering after decades of civil war, had frequently come under fire from rights groups for keeping capital punishment on the books. Ninety-four people were living under a death sentence at the end of 2020, according to deputy minister of justice Umaru Napoleon Koroma.
Related
9 May 2020
Violence and rape have long been part of everyday life for many women in Sierra Leone. One rural village has begun educating men on the dangers of raping their wives to become better husbands.
19 Jul 2020
Iranians took to social media to protest the planned execution of three young protesters, under the hashtag #Don'tExecute. The men had taken part in last year's mass demonstrations against a fuel price hike.
25 Oct 2020
Bangladesh's decision to introduce the death penalty for rape has been criticized by international rights groups. Critics say capital punishment is not the solution to the problem of sexual violence in the country.
24 Oct 2020
After a series of sexual assault and murder cases in Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, politicians are responding to calls to overturn a moratorium on the death penalty. But experts say that will be hard — and won't work.
23 Oct 2020
Campaigner Rugiati Turay has won the Theodor Haecker human rights prize for fighting female genital mutilation in Sierra Leone.
30 Oct 2020
In response to restrictive COVID-19 measures, a Sierra Leonean man in Germany's Bad Belzig is winning the hearts of the townsfolk by becoming a beekeeper. He's already turning his venture into a sweet success.
20 Nov 2020
Botswana has seen a steep rise in executions since President Mokgweetsi Masisi took office just over a year ago. Human rights groups are calling on the nation to ban capital punishment.
18 Dec 2020
The West African nation's fight against corruption started bearing fruit when political will supported by international partners began mixing with digital technology. Can Sierra Leone be a model for the rest of Africa?
4 Jan 2021
Sierra Leone has one of the highest rates of female genital mutilation in Africa. Despite decades of campaigns, the traditional practice has hardly declined. This doesn't deter Rugiatu Turay from fighting cutting.
26 Feb 2021
Lawmakers in Virginia have voted to abolish the death penalty. The move marks the end of a long history of capital punishment in the state. Virginia currently has the highest number of executions in the United States. We take a closer look with FRANCE 24's Valérie Dekimpe.
21 Mar 2021
27-year-old Solomon Fatorma is an acapella master and music producer. He uses his mouth, reverberations and even gabbles from his toddler, to create sounds he incorporates into his music. And the artist has big dreams.
Latest
1 day ago
A Shanghai court said the billionaire, who had not been seen in public since 2017, was sentenced and his investment firm was fined for embezzlement and bribery.
1 day ago
A German former world-class high diver has said he was sexually abused by his coach over a period of several years. Jan Hempel said the abuse continued even after he had informed the national swimming federation.
1 day ago
Kenya's presidential election results came down to a knife-edge, and may be contested. But winner Ruto says "there is no room for vengance."
1 day ago
Mona Magdy, a popular Sudanese singer, has not stopped performing in concerts despite undergoing treatment for stage 2 breast cancer.
1 day ago
A small group of women rallied in the Afghan capital for the first time in months, demanding a return of their freedoms, after the Taliban reneged on promises to maintain the marginal gains women made in recent years.
1 day ago
The Chinese military responded to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan by launching a series of drills after she left. The drills have not just caused political tensions. They have also impacted everyday life along the Taiwanese shoreline.