Death penalty in the People's Republic of China
The death penalty in the People's Republic of China is the highest possible sentence in the People's Republic of China . With thousands of executions, it is the country where the death penalty is most widely used. The exact numbers can only be estimated because the actual number of executions is a state secret.
Criminal offenses
In principle, all administrative units at the provincial level in the People's Republic of China have autonomy in judicial matters. In various provinces and autonomous regions , not only murder was considered a capital crime until 2007 , but also drug trafficking , kidnapping and rape , among other things . Since 2007, all death sentences have to be confirmed by the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China .
In 2011, with the revision of the People's Republic of China's criminal law, the death penalty was reduced to 55 crimes across the country. Executions can still take place for: violent crimes ; Homicide; Explosives attacks; Sabotages that endanger public safety; Espionage ; Corruption; Trafficking in women and children . Crimes against food safety, the manufacture and sale of counterfeit drugs that cause serious damage or death, or forced organ removal, can be punishable by death. At the time of the offense and at the time of their legal proceedings, pregnant women and generally over 75-year-olds are exempt from the death penalty.
Cases with media attention
The case of a German who killed and stabbed his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend on the street in the city of Xiamen attracted media attention because he received the death penalty for it in the People's Republic of China. German diplomats tried to prevent the verdict.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Amnesty International: Amnesty Report on the Death Penalty 2019 , accessed June 6, 2020.
- ↑ In the future, death sentences will be upheld by the Supreme People's Court. Embassy of the PR China in the Federal Republic of Germany, November 2, 2006 , accessed on December 16, 2017
- ↑ 中华人民共和国 刑法 修正案 （八）. The Central Peoples Government of the People's Republic of China, February 25, 2011, accessed June 10, 2020.
- ↑ Diplomacy for a Murderer . In: Zeit online from January 3, 2015 . Retrieved June 10, 2020.