Amnesty urges India, S Korea and Taiwan to end Executions

 India, South Korea and Taiwan should join the global trend and immediately establish a moratorium on the death penalty, rights group Amnesty International said on Friday. In an appeal to mark the World Day Against death Penalty on Friday October 10^th, Amnesty said that these three nations had stopped executing criminals in recent years and should make that move official, setting an example for the rest of Asia. The continent executes more people each year than any other part of the world, with China leading the way. There were 664 executions in Asia in 2007, of at least 1252 worldwide. Beijing alone executed 470 people last year, the rights group said, although the real figure is likely to be higher. Amnesty called for more transparency in nations where the death penalty is entrenched, as well as improvements in the judicial process and a review of the non violent crimes punishable by death. As of June 137 countries worldwide had abolished death penalty in practice or in law, including 27 in Asia. Amnesty said that India, South Korea and Taiwan are well placed to join them. India has not carried out any execution since 2004, although death sentences are still handed down. Amnesty International argues that the death penalty violates people’s right to life and has n clear deterrent effect on crime.