The parliament of the Central African Republic yesterday voted to abolish the death penalty. This was announced by the speaker of the National Assembly, Simplice Mathieu Sarandji, to the applause of the deputies.
President Faustin-Archange Touadera has yet to sign the law into force. Amnesty International welcomed the “good news” on Twitter and called on the President to officially announce the law.
The last death sentence in the country was carried out in 1981. A civil war has been raging in the Central African Republic for almost nine years, which began as a result of a coup in 2013. However, the conflict has weakened in the past three years. According to the United Nations, it is the second poorest country in the world. Chad abolished the death penalty in 2020, and Sierra Leone in 2021.