Human Rights Watcher: Death Sentences for Cyclists' Abductors Unacceptable
Chairman of the Estonian Institute of Human Rights Mart Nutt said that the death sentences handed down to 26 individuals who were involved in the abduction of seven Estonian cyclists in Lebanon are unaccptable.
"From our point of view, the death penalty cannot be in any way acceptable," Nutt told Postimees.
He added that the only European country to carry out the death penalty is Belarus, and that even in the case of Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in Norway, imposing the death penalty as punishment is unthinkable.
"The civilized world considers the death penalty to be uncivilized," noted Nutt.
When asked how Estonia should react to the death sentences handed down by the Lebanese military tribunal, Nutt replied that the announcement should be met with disapproval.
On April 26, Lebanese news site Naharnet reported that a military tribunal had handed down death sentences to 26 individuals accused of abducting seven Estonian cyclists in March 2011.
Sigrid Maasen